Gossamer Remembrance
by Heather B. Kytes
Summary: Act I: To Solitude. Buffy and Tohru in a dead world. BTVS/Fruits Basket/Naruto in Chapter 13
1. Reflection

**Disclaimer**: The characters are not mine, with the exception of the originals.  
**Timeline and Important Notes:** Set in Buffy's Freshman year of college. Her mother is dead, Angel is gone, NO RILEY. For Fruits Basket, this is set during Tohru's last months of high school. Life is pretty much the same for her as in the last episode of Fruits Basket.

Naruto mixed with Fruits Basket will be the basis of Act II, so I am hesitant to put it in the Buffy Crossovers section like this Act. It is going to be placed in the Anime Crossovers section for now. Alternatively, look for it under my name or contact me to be put on a notification list for updates.

Various things have been changed in the story to prevent conflict from the addition of Naruto, which was not intended in the beginning. These are minor and probably wouldn't have been noticed, but I like to keep the loose ends tied just in case.

This story has taken forever, mostly due to a period of lost interest. This time I'm in it until the end, no matter how long it takes. Thanks for stickin' around. :D

**Thanks to:** David for everything, and Kathleen for some ideas. I appreciate muchly.

**ACT I: To Solitude**  
Gossamer Remembrance  
_By, Heather B. Kytes_  
**Chapter Summary:** _Tohru didn't understand the words. She didn't recognize the face that had replaced hers in the clear pool. Those sorrowful green eyes looked nothing like her bright eyes of blue, yet they sparked a sense of familiarity in her, comfort._

Chapter One:  
_Reflection_

"Oof," Buffy Summers breathed as the blue-horned and well-muscled demon effectively knocked the wind from her with a well-placed kick to her solar plexus. It had started out as a relatively quiet patrol until Buffy had heard the grunting sounds coming from beneath the monkey bars at that damn cursed children's playground on Baker Street, a breeding ground for demons if she'd ever seen one. She hadn't been surprised to see demon of the week enter the picture: blue, slimy, strong, and ugly.

All standard demon traits, she supposed, with color being the wildcard.

"Look, there's one of you, and one of me," she said when she caught her breath, standing in the standard defensive position as she eyed her opponent. "Now in terms of getting your ass kicked, there may as well be ten me's and one you. Well, okay, not really, because there aren't ten me's, but, uh--" Buffy wrinkled her brow, wondering if she would ever get back into her groove of pertinent puns. "Okay, that didn't come out as witty as I hoped. Let me just start from--"

The demon launched itself at her, having no respect for the taunting part of battle. Buffy gazed around wildly, looking for anything that might come in handy as a stabbing device (the damn demon had knocked her trusty stake Mr. Pointy into some bushes earlier). The nearest thing even vaguely resembling weaponry was a toy gardening spade resting in the nearby sandbox. Buffy threw herself into the sandbox, choking on a puff of the sand grains that rose up around her as she focused on grasping a handful of the stuff. She tossed it into Ugly's eyes, satisfied to see the monster stumbling around blindly as she raced to her duffel bag. She rummaged through the bag hurriedly, knowing that the demon wouldn't be in the dark for long.

Her fingers found the blade of a knife, somehow avoiding serious cuts from the sharp edge, and she pulled it free from its constraints, gripping the handle and aiming with a cocked eye. She pulled her arm back and hurled the deadly weapon at the staggering demon. The blade found its target, giving her both the satisfaction of having been correct in her aim and in ensuring its demise by hitting the heart straight on. It groaned painfully for a few seconds, white, sticky blood gurgling out of its mouth with its failed attempt at foreign speech. He was probably trying to curse her or maybe praying to go to the same Hell as its loved ones. Buffy didn't much care to ponder what demons thought before they died.

"Pretty easy for a demon slaying," Buffy muttered, heading into the bushes to find the missing stake. Normally she'd probably say screw it in regards to a measly stake, but this one she had a weird attachment to, on account of all the times it had been her last saving grace. She owed her life to it, and to Kendra, the fallen slayer. "Come on, where are you?" Buffy pushed back leaf-covered branches aside in futile hopes of finding the stake. Several times she cut herself superficially on a sharp pointy branch, but the cuts healed almost as soon as they formed.

Funny, she couldn't remember ever healing this fast before. Maybe all her lasting wounds were just emotional now.

"Dammit Mr. Pointy," Buffy hissed, flushing as soon as she realized her thought had been vocalized, albeit quietly. Talking to an inanimate object; insanity, the final frontier. The wooden stake lay beneath the last bush, unharmed and still as deadly for the undead as ever. She brushed it off and slipped it back into the inner pocket of her jacket.

Buffy swung the duffel bag over her shoulder and trudged out of the playground, heading for home. She turned her mind off the dire thoughts and wondered instead how Xander's date was going. He had been so excited on the phone, "I think I found someone! Who likes me! A female! A non-Cordelia female!" She chuckled, thinking there was a fifty-fifty chance it would turn out to be a demon or other being of the non-human variety (Cordy being borderline). It did seem like Xander was cursed in the area of love.

Then weren't they all? Wasn't everyone, really?

"There's that dire again," Buffy muttered, mentally slapping herself. She was really trying to keep grim thoughts off the menu. They tended to get her into depressed mood and that was a place she didn't really need to be during the healing process.

The hot summer had dealt her two deadly blows. First, she'd had to deal with Angel being gone. The love of her life... he loved her but wouldn't stay. That had been painful, as painful as the summer after she had killed him to save the world. She thought she had handled it a little better, possibly because graduating from high school had matured her somewhat. Just as the pain had faded, the second blow had clocked her upside the head. Her mother suffered a deadly stroke and died.

Just like that.

Thrust on her own at eighteen, a legal adult, but Buffy had not known what to do or where to start. She hadn't cared to at first, feeling the best thing to do would be to climb in her mother's coffin with her and take a long rest. Giles, Willow, and Xander had been her saving graces, and she owed them everything she had now. Giles had taken her in gladly, or so he said. Joyce would want Buffy to live in a stable environment and finish her education by continuing into college, an endeavor which Giles was fully funding with his extensive savings. The bookish man had never been one to spend money on frivolous things, so he had quite the stockpile of cash in the bank.

College was hell, no doubt about that. She hadn't expected anything else. School was school.

I wish there were more demons out, Buffy thought. I'm starting to get the warm fuzzies from killing them again.

Like magic, as soon as she had the thought, a twin of the blue Ugly appeared in front of her, grinning with wicked sharp yellow teeth.

Buffy smiled. "Guess you're worried about your buddy, huh? Sorry he can't come to the phone right now, on account of being really, really dead."

Ugly grinned wider, turning and running in the opposite direction.

Buffy started, blinking with confusion. "That's not the normal response," she said before breaking into a run after the demon.

It was fast, Olympic sprinter fast. She was faster, catching up to it and dealing it a series of devastating kicks. It rolled away, picked itself up, and continued to flee.

"Not a quick learner, huh? No worries, I'm a patient, if not effective, teacher," Buffy panted, holding her duffel bag close as she chased the demon across a grassy area. She was almost caught up when it disappeared into the ground.

No, just jumped down into the sewers.

"Typical," Buffy groaned, sighing as she contemplated the sewer's smelly effect on her clothes and hair. She finally relented, dropping her duffel down the hole and jumping in right after it.

She spotted the blue thing disappearing around the corner. She heaved her bag up and splashed along, cringing at the thought of what this was doing to her expensive boots. _Why don't demons ever pick nice parks to shack up in? Sewers and graveyards, let's have some originality here._

A slight feeling of uneasiness made its way into Buffy's conscious mind. She acknowledged it briefly, keeping her mind on the chase. She was catching up again, almost there.

The demon took a sharp right, through a tunnel. She followed close behind.

The uneasiness grew into full blown anxiety, but her feet continued to pound across the floor, mechanically. She couldn't place the fear. Didn't want to know. All she wanted was to kill it and be done with it.

_Get out, get out, get out._

_No. Stay._

She stumbled into a dark room. The demon was mysteriously gone, no sign of it either visually or aurally. Her Slayer senses were reading zero.

Except for the mind numbing fear.

Because she knew this place. She _knew_.

The Master's lair.

Emotions assaulted her, rendering her helpless. The duffel bag dropped to the ground unnoticed as Buffy's body went limp, barely maintaining the ability to stand.

The place where she, where she--

_Go on, it's better the second time around._

"No," she whispered, unable to move, desperately wanting to leave. Needing to leave.

_Buffy._

God, who was that? So familiar.

She gazed into the dark depths of the pool, unable to tear her eyes away. The water was remarkably clear and tinted the slightest of blues. Buffy's reflection wavered as tiny waves rippled along its surface. There shouldn't have been ripples, because there was no wind, not even a slight breeze. She leaned forward, trying to get a better view.

Of...

Her.

_We're all searching for something to live for. It might be hard to find, but it's there. You'll find it._

_You can tell others what you want._

_I can't go back there. I don't belong there._

_I'm sorry. I'm so sorry._

_Let's stay together._

_She's gone._

_I'll kill her._

Buffy watched dreamily as an image of a girl appeared in the pool.

"Who... is that?" Buffy murmured, sure that she had never seen the girl before. Such luminous blue eyes and a gorgeous smile would have been hard to forget. Looking at her, as the lovely girl looked back, felt...

Nice.

Buffy opened her mouth to speak, but the figure sneaking up behind the girl in the pool caught her attention. A pale ghost of a man with dark hair and dark blue eyes raised his arms up, and his intent was crystal clear.

_He's going to push her in!_

Buffy started to yell out as the girl's face deepened with fear similar to her own. Her yell was cut off by a hard shove, and she fell facedown into the pool. In slow motion, it seemed she fell forever, her eyes never leaving the girl's reflected face.

_It's time._

Buffy heard someone speak. She knew she did, but she had no chance to find out who it was before the dark.

* * *

"I really don't know what to do after graduation," Tohru Honda said to Hatori Souma as she fiddled with some loose papers on his desk. She spotted one titled "grocery list" and absent-mindedly began reading it. She stopped once she got to the item listing of "condoms" and looked up quickly, flushing. "Um..."

Hatori was watching her, standing next to the open door leading to the outside deck. The afternoon sun was bright and hot, but he seemed unaffected by the weather, dressed neatly in a pair of tan slacks and his white coat. Tohru wondered why he was in full doctor gear, but decided to continue talking about the original topic, which was of course cond--no, post-graduation plans.

After a beat of silence, Tohru continued, "I've really enjoyed taking care of Akito lately, so I think I might look into the health care field, maybe try to become a nurse."

"I was thinking you would pursue a career related to cooking," Hatori said quietly, looking thoughtful. "But you really are a natural care giver. Akito has been doing much better since you started visiting him."

Tohru shrugged modestly. "Well, I enjoy it. He's no trouble at all, really. We have fun just watching movies, eating and talking. I don't know how much of a nurse's job consists of that!"

"Not much, I'm afraid," Hatori replied, walking slowly towards his desk and her. "Well, Tohru, you have all summer to decide what you'd like to do."

"It's just such a big decision," Tohru said, clenching her fists as the weight of the future loomed over her. Life could never continue as it was, the carefree days at Shigure's house and the ease of high school. What if she drifted apart from her friends? She wanted to them to be in her life forever.

Because they weren't friends. They were family.

"No matter what you choose to do, I'm sure you'll turn out fine. You have a lot of people who care for you, Tohru," Hatori said.

"I know," Tohru said. "I know everything will be fine as long as mom is watching out for me."

Hatori nodded, moving past her to riffle through the papers on his desk. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to do a little shopping for Ayame. He tells me he's very busy at the shop today and just has no time to pick these up himself."

Tohru let out a sigh. "So it's his," she said, feeling relief. The relief died at the realization that Ayame needing condoms was just as horrifying (though not as surprising) a prospect as the other.

"Are you feeling alright?" Hatori said as he peered at her face. "You appear flushed."

"It's just hot today," Tohru said quickly. "I'm fine. Enjoy your shopping."

"You enjoy your time with Akito. Just a warning, but he's been acting a bit odd today. However, I'm sure he'll warm up to you. You have my cell phone number if you need to contact me for anything. Goodbye." Hatori tucked the list in his back pocket and exited the room as Tohru waved him off.

Alone now, Tohru made her way out of Hatori's office to the building furthest from the front gate. Akito preferred to stay there, he said, because the noise of the city bothered him. Tohru actually thought that the Souma main house was relatively remotely located, but Akito must have disagreed.

She had been visiting him regularly for the past six months, about once a week. He had recently asked her if she could visit more often, and for longer periods of time. Tohru wasn't yet sure she wanted to spend both of her days off from work with him, but she had promised to think about it. It wasn't only pity that kept her going to him, she honestly enjoyed his company. She never could have known that inside the seemingly insane, sick, violent young man had rested a genuinely nice, caring person if she hadn't taken the time to get to know him. He reminded her a lot that he appreciated her efforts.

As nice as Yuki was to her, he made it clear he didn't approve of her time spent with Akito. "I just don't think that's where you need to be."

Undaunted, Tohru had responded, "I like spending time with him." She was gradually getting used to speaking up for her own wants, and she knew she had Kyou to thank for her growth.

Yuki had seen her commitment and dropped the subject, but Tohru knew it still bothered him. Kyou's reaction had been much simpler. "If that bastard hurts you, he's getting his face punched in," he'd said.

The two of them were understandably worried about her. Tohru wished they could see that they didn't need to be concerned, but as far as she knew, no one knew Akito the way she had grown to know him. Maybe not even Hatori knew who Akito really was inside.

Tohru was walking mindlessly, knowing the way by heart. She could have found her way there blindfolded, well, probably. She had a DVD tucked under her arm, a great comedy she figured Akito would love. He had told her those were his favorite type of movie after she had brought a sampling of things from her collection. He never laughed at any of the jokes, but he assured her that he honestly enjoyed them.

"Bring your favorite movie sometime," Akito had said. "I'd like to watch it with you."

Getting Akito from doing nothing to talking with her had been hard. It had been even harder to introduce watching movies to the equation. Her biggest goal was to get Akito off the Souma property one of these days. She knew he would enjoy a trip to the park if only she could ger him there. It was tragic that someone who had such little time left in the world wasn't out there enjoying all of it he could.

_"I'm just so tired, Tohru."_

Tohru stopped dead in her tracks, unsure a moment later why she had stopped. Her gaze was drawn to a small pond to her right, and she walked towards it, staring at her reflection in the water.

She watched her own face for a few seconds before it was gone.

Then she saw everything.

_ The Slayer?_

_You know, Chosen one, she who walks alone? Ringing a bell yet?_

_You'll die. We all will._

_I'm sorry I couldn't save you._

_I'm sixteen. I don't want to die._

_It's okay. The world will rest soon._

Tohru didn't understand the words. She didn't recognize the face that had replaced hers in the clear pool. Those sorrowful green eyes looked nothing like her bright eyes of blue, yet they sparked a sense of familiarity in her, comfort. Trust me, they said. I will take care of you.

Tohru was about to speak when the figure appeared over the girl's shoulder. A young woman with a raven's unfurled wing of hair and soft, muted lips twisted upward in a sorrowful smile was reaching out to push the girl forward.

_She'll fall into the pool!_

Tohru started to cry out a warning, and as she did, the face of the girl in the pool also twisted with anxiety. Before a word could escape her lips, she was falling forward. She didn't remember losing her balance. She remembered nothing as it all faded to white.


	2. Ghosts

**Disclaimer**: The characters are not mine, with the exception of the originals.

Gossamer Remembrance  
By, Heather B. Kytes  
**Chapter Summary:** _"Reality? You call this reality? Is this a world of lunatics? How often does this happen outside of these walls?" Buffy shouted back. "You're just lucky I'm here or you'd have a bloody mess to clean up!"_

Chapter Two:  
_Ghosts_

As usual, the waking sensation was pain. Buffy was reluctant to open her eyes and fully accept consciousness, for with it the pain always increased. At the moment, she felt annoyed with the hurt, but it was bearable. Upon waking, who could say if the same would hold true?

Her eyes opened. Damn.

Buffy gazed at dry brown grass beneath her. It dug in to the bare skin of her arms with pointy precision. She pushed herself into a sitting position and looked herself over, gauging her injuries. Nothing appeared to be seriously hurt, so she wondered where the wicked ouch was coming from.

"Hello," came a voice to her right.

Buffy looked over to see a girl sitting on her knees in the grass. Her hands were placed in her lap and her blue eyes were large and clear. Looking into them brought everything back to Buffy instantly.

_The girl in the pool._

"Hi," Buffy responded, unsure of what was happening. The smile on the girl's face was hesitant, almost seeming forced.

"Do you happen to know where we are?" the girl asked, reaching up and brushing aside the bangs that hung over her eyes. Her hand remained at her hair, playing with the yellow ribbons tying back the sides.

"I'm afraid I don't, not yet," Buffy replied honestly, stretching her legs out in front of her. The movement caused her muscles to groan in pain, but she ignored it easily, confusion reigning supreme on her senses. She remembered falling into the pond, having been shoved.

_By her?_

The girl was so sweet-looking, so innocent. It couldn't have been her. She didn't even know her, so why would she try to kill her?

_You're already dead._

The girl bowed her head. "My name is Tohru Honda."

Buffy looked oddly at the girl. "What?"

Tohru repeated herself. Buffy noticed it again. Her lips didn't match the words.

"Are you speaking English?" Buffy asked.

Tohru returned her puzzled stare. "Um, no, I'm speaking Japanese, like you."

Buffy shook her head. "I'm speaking English."

"Well, that's really strange. I hear Japanese," Tohru said.

Buffy nodded. "I guess it's all good, given we can understand each other. I'm Buffy Summers."

"It's nice to meet you," Tohru said, giving Buffy a bright smile that hit her like a ton of bricks.

_How did she do that?_

Buffy shrugged it off and got down to business. "Yes, it's nice to meet you, though the circumstances aren't really that great. I say we figure out what the hell is going on."

"How are we going to do that?" Tohru questioned, seeming to accept Buffy's authority without question.

"First things first, we have to know where we are. I believe we're still on Earth, but I'm not familiar with this place, so we've got to find someone who is." Buffy stood, offering her hand to Tohru and pulling her up. "We just have to hope there are friendly people here."

"I'm sure there are," Tohru said cheerily. "Most people are nice until you give them a reason not to be."

Buffy chuckled at the girl's naivete. "I hope you're right." She paused for a moment, waiting for her Slayer senses to kick in. Oddly, the meter was reading zero. "Huh," she muttered.

"What?" Tohru's gaze was wide and curious.

"Oh, nothing," Buffy said, brushing the feeling aside. She still possessed her Slayer strength, she could feel that. But the awareness was dim, almost non-existent. She didn't know what to feel about that. "Let's head for town."

"Where's town?"

Buffy pointed. "Those faraway lights out there, I'm guessing."

Tohru squinted in the direction of Buffy's outstretched arm. "Right."

Buffy and Tohru walked along, the grass crunching beneath their feet. Buffy greatly doubted they were anywhere near Sunnydale. All of the surrounding areas had been lush and green, at least that's what she remembered from her bus rides to L.A. Also, seeing as how Tohru was Japanese, they might very well be in Japan.

Well, if Japan had been dunked in the deep fryer. This place was extra crispy.

"I wonder how this happened," Tohru mused aloud, breaking the silence between them. "The last thing I remember was staring into a pond at the Souma house and blacking out."

Buffy was surprised. "I was looking into water when I lost consciousness, too." She paused, wondering what Tohru would think if she told the girl she had seen her face.

Tohru beat her to the punch. "I remember seeing your face instead of my own reflection."

Mild shock registered. "I saw you, too."

"That's not normal, is it?" Tohru asked, the understatement of the year.

Chuckling, Buffy said, "I'm pretty sure it isn't. That probably means something mystical is at work here." Upon seeing Tohru's worried gaze, she held up her hands reassuringly. "Don't worry, this is just my kind of thing."

As if on cue, a trio of vamp-faced goons appeared in front of them, weilding crude bats that appeared handmade by someone either blind or at the least very uncaring as to the quality of their product. They growled at the girls, licking their lips as they most likely contemplated the taste of their victims' blood.

"Well, well, I see I can't get a day off even in the bizarro world. Let's go then." Buffy attacked the vampire closest to her right and shoved his own wooden bat through his chest, effectively dusting him in less than ten seconds. She turned to the other two, who were staring in stunned horror at their friend's demise.

"See, vamps carrying wooden objects, that's what we call stupid," Buffy taunted, turning to Tohru. "Get behind me."

Tohru scurried to safety behind Buffy, looking shell-shocked herself.

Buffy leapt at the other two, disarming them quickly. She unleashed Mr. Pointy and dusted the taller vampire before he knew what was happening. The third got his warning and backed off, baring his teeth at Buffy and hissing, "Slayer."

"That's me," Buffy said cheerily, posing for a moment. "Thanks for the warm welcome."

The vampire took off, racing in the direction Tohru and Buffy had been heading in before the interruption.

"Drat. Guess I'll get him later," Buffy said, knowing she couldn't abandon Tohru to chase after the cowardly vampire. Vamp like that probably wouldn't last long anyway, she rationalized, if this place was anything like Sunnydale. Vampires had no tolerance for stupidity in their fellow kind.

Buffy turned around to face Tohru, pocketing her stake. "I'm sorry you had to see that," she said sincerely.

"Those weren't... humans?" Tohru asked hesitantly.

"Nope, vampires. Undead."

"And Slayer...?"

Buffy sighed. She didn't want to get in a long diatribe about the origins of the Slayer, not that she knew much anyway. "Basically, the vampires are evil demons, and I kill them. The Slayer kills all the evil things to keep the world safe. Superhuman strength, blah, blah."

Tohru nodded. "So you're like a super hero?"

Buffy cringed. "Not really. I just do my job."

Tohru smiled. "It's pretty lucky that I got taken here with you then."

"I suppose it is," Buffy said, returning the smile. "Now we should probably follow that vampire."

Tohru looked worried. "What if he leads us to more of his friends?"

"Then they're as good as dust," Buffy said confidently, patting her jacket pocket that contained the lucky stake. "If they're anything like his other friends, anyway."

"I wonder how they just appeared out of nowhere," Tohru mused as the two girls continued walking towards the glowing lights.

Buffy pondered the question. It was a good point. There was nothing around them but open space, and the vampires had just showed up in front of them. "There has to be an underground opening back there," she said. It was the only logical explanation.

"Should we go back and look for it?" Tohru questioned.

Surprised and impressed by the girl's bravery, Buffy nevertheless shook her head. "No. We should learn more about this place first. We have to know where we are if we have any hope of going home."

Tohru nodded. "I hope they aren't worried for me back home."

"Your parents?" Buffy asked, glancing sideways at the girl.

Tohru's head lowered. "No. My family." She quickly turned the topic around. "What about your parents?"

Buffy shrugged, feeling a twinge in her heart. "My dad probably won't know, unless Giles contacts him. My mom, she's passed away."

The smile never wavered from Tohru's face, even as she spoke of tragedy, "My mother was in a car accident when I was in my first year of high school. My father, he passed away when I was very young."

"I'm sorry," Buffy said sincerely.

"Oh, it's okay," Tohru said brightly. "She isn't gone."

Buffy was puzzled. "What do you mean? She survived the accident? From the way you phrased it, I thought..."

"She's right here," Tohru said, pulling a golden locket out from under her shirt and opening it for Buffy to see. A lovely woman with fiery hair and a wide grin winked at Buffy from the tiny photograph enclosed inside. "I have another, bigger picture of her on my dresser that I used to carry around until Shigure gave me this for my eighteenth birthday."

How can she be so cheerful about it? Buffy wondered, her own heart aching from the loss of Joyce Summers. Maybe she's just had time to cope with the loss.

Tohru was peering at Buffy inquisitively. "You lost her recently?" she asked.

"Yeah. A month ago tomorrow, if the days are even the same here," Buffy answered, turning her green eyes away from Tohru's penetrating gaze.

"It's always hard to lose someone close to you," Tohru said. "It just helps me to know that Mom is with me, even if she can't always answer all the questions I ask her. She's helping me now."

Buffy nodded slowly. "Maybe. Maybe my mom is, too."

"Why wouldn't she help her daughter out of a tight fix?" Tohru agreed. "We're not alone here, Buffy."

_That's all I feel right now. Loneliness._

After walking for another few minutes, it was revealed that the lights were in fact the beacon of a small town. More of a village, Buffy supposed, looking at the crude buildings that were nothing at all like anything she had ever seen in her life. _Where did we get dumped, back in time?_

"This is strange," Tohru said, looking at the ramshackle huts ahead of them.

"I agree," Buffy said, continuing the trek forward. The ground quickly changed from grass to dirt with every step forward. _Dead_, Buffy thought, the description popping into her head. _The Earth looks dead._

Where was the green of nature? It had to be somewhere, or else everyone would be dead due to the lack of oxygen. Buffy remembered that much from Biology class.

"Where should we go now?" Tohru asked when they reached the outskirts of town.

"Probably the tavern or whatever bar-like place is here." Buffy said. "That's usually the place to go to find out things. Also, we'll just appear to be travelers stopping by. I think we should avoid drawing too much attention to ourselves for now."

"Okay."

The girls were in the village for thirty seconds before they were accosted by guards. At least, Buffy figured they were guards by their police-like blue uniforms, official-looking badges, and belts filled with all sort of wicked weapons, most notably long swords that Buffy guessed she could handle better than they could ever hope to. With Giles' emphasized training on blades during the early part of summer ("There's no quicker way to behead a demon, Buffy."), she felt quite confident in her skill.

The tallest and gruffest guard spoke first. "You young ladies shouldn't be out in the street at this hour. We will escort you to your homes."

Buffy sighed. "We don't live here."

"Do you have permission from the Lady to reside here temporarily?" McGruff the Guard asked, resting his hand on the hilt of the sword in his belt.

"The hell? No," Buffy snapped. "We were just leaving." She didn't want trouble. They couldn't afford it.

Of course, the worst happened. "Troublemakers," the guard in the center said tonelessly, removing a pair of handcuffs from his belt. He was round and pudgy, so Buffy mentally christened him Pop'n'Fresh. "We'll have to take them into custody."

Buffy readied herself in a fighting stance. "I don't think so."

Tohru tugged on Buffy's arm. "I think we should go with them, Buffy."

Buffy shook her off. "For what? We didn't do anything." By the identical blank looks on the guards' faces, she figured there was no way out of this situation other than violence.

"You will be released in the morning," McGruff said. "This is strictly a safety measure."

"It's stupid," Buffy said, relenting finally. She turned around, placing her hands behind her back. She cringed as Pop'n'Fresh locked the handcuffs around her wrists. "Watch it," she warned. She looked back at Tohru. "I don't like this at all."

"It'll be okay, Buffy," Tohru assured her as she was handcuffed. The guards led them through the town and into the back of an expensive looking car.

The drive was long, and Buffy was tired. It wasn't long before she fell asleep.

She didn't remember dreaming.

* * *

The cell was much too tiny to be accomidating to the four people residing within. Three of the walls were composed of a dull gray metal while the last was heavy wood. Tohru looked around for what might very well have been the thirtieth time, resting her chin on her hand.

Buffy had been sleeping for hours now. Tohru had been wide awake as they had been thrust into the cell like criminals. The other two in the cell were huddled together, snoring softly. The blanket was covering their upper bodies, including their heads, but their lower halves were uncovered by anything except clothing. Tohru guessed they were female by the fact that they were wearing dresses, but knowing Momiji's fondness for them, she may have been wrong.

Tohru didn't think she would be getting sleep anytime soon. She felt wide awake. The fact might not have been too strange. It was hard to say how long she had been out between the time of being back in her world and coming here. She could see faint rays of sunlight filtering in through the slates of wood of the fourth door.

Dawn.

_I don't feel any different._

Or maybe she did.

The lump under the blanket shifted, and one of the prisoners sat up. Tohru saw her guess of gender had been correct.

She also saw a ghost that rendered her speechless.

The woman yawned, stretching. "Oh!" she exclaimed, freezing when her eyes rested on Tohru. "I didn't know--"

The two stared at each other for what seemed like eternity, unmoving, unblinking. Tohru didn't want to blink. She didn't want to do anything that would wake her up. Eventually, she found her voice.

"Mother."

Kyoko Honda returned Tohru's surprised gaze. "Tohru?"

Before anything else could be said, the other two occupants of the room awakened, Buffy with a loud yawn. "What's going on?" she asked sleepily, sitting up.

"Kyoko," an unmistakable voice said from underneath the blanket. "Do we have company?"

"Um, yes we do," Kyoko said, tearing her eyes away from Tohru long enough to push the blanket away. "Hana."

Hana sat up, taking in their guests with a calm, emotionless gaze. As the haziness of sleep wore off, and she really saw Tohru, surprise touched her features. "Tohru."

Tohru felt her eyes water. "Mom, you're..."

"Tohru, this can't be," Kyoko said, her eyes tearing up as well. "You're..."

The words refused to be spoken. The pain was too overwhelming. Silence descended again as the three looked at each other with Buffy scratching her head off to the side, appearing confused as to what was happening. Tohru couldn't blame her. She didn't know, either.

"You passed away, Tohru," Hana said finally, what Kyoko couldn't. Pain was evident on her face. "You're dead."

Confusion hit her, hard. "No. Mom, you're the one who's... who's dead."

Buffy appraised the situation quickly and garnered an explanation, "Look, obviously you two aren't dead right now, unless someone here is a vampire and not telling me." She cast a suspicious eye at the two strangers before continuing, "This means some freaky shit is happening, a fact we already knew, Tohru. The only thing this confirms is that we really aren't in our world anymore."

"I don't understand," Kyoko said, tears spilling out of her bloodshot eyes. "You can't be my daughter. She was killed."

Together, Buffy and Tohru recounted their stories of how they ended up in this strange place. Kyoko and Hana scarcely reacted to their tales, and Tohru wondered if they thought she and Buffy were a couple of lunatics, one of whom happened to look a lot like the Tohru Honda they had known.

After the stories were done, Buffy said in a businesslike tone, "Now that we've told you all this, you need to help us out. We need to know where this is, the day, the month, the year, and basically anything at all you can tell us about this place."

Hana nodded solemnly, the shock and pain wiped from her face. She was handling it pretty well, Tohru thought, but then, that was concurrent with the Hana she knew. Such a strong girl.

"We are on the planet Earth, in the year ninteen ninety-nine. This is the eighth month August, but unfortunately I've lost track of the exact day. We've been in this cell for quite awhile now," Hana said, looking straight at Tohru as she spoke. Tohru didn't mind the scrutiny; in fact, Kyoko must have felt like a specimen under a microscope for all the staring Tohru was doing. She just couldn't reconcile it in her mind... her mother, flesh and blood, only a few feet away from her. She didn't know how she felt about it or what she should feel.

Happiness?

Buffy was nodding at Hana's words. "Then this is the same year and month as when we left. That's good, I think. Are we in Japan?"

"Yes," Hana said. "This region is under the rule of Shigure Souma."

Tohru's ears perked up at the mention of her friend. "Shigure?" she asked.

"You knew him in your other world?" Hana guessed.

Tohru nodded emphatically. "Oh yes! We're great friends."

Hana looked down at the dirt floor beneath them. "I'm sorry."

Puzzled, Tohru asked, "Why?"

Before Hana could answer, Buffy placed a loud kick on the wooden door that rattled the boards and caused the other three in the cell to jump in surprise. "Damn," the Slayer muttered. "I thought I could break it."

"It's thick, reinforced. There's no way," Kyoko said, sounding defeated. It pained Tohru to hear her mother's voice filled with such despair, but she didn't know how to comfort her. She didn't know if she could.

Buffy ran her hands along the wood. "I'm not feeling any weak points here, which is a bit odd. I guess whoever made it really knew his stuff." She punched it lightly, shaking her head. "Barely moves. This isn't good."

"They said they would let us go in the morning," Tohru reminded the petite blonde.

"It looks like dawn's pretty much over to me. I just don't trust those guards to keep their word."

"That's smart of you," Kyoko said tiredly, coughing. Her voice was strained. In fact, as Tohru inspected her more closely, she realized her mother looked pretty ill. She wondered how long she and Hana had lived in this cell.

Buffy placed her hands on her hips. "Why do you say that?"

"Listen," Kyoko replied cryptically.

Those in the cell quieted and strained their ears. Faint sounds of fighting and cheering could be heard from beyond the door. "What is that?" Tohru asked, a knot forming in her stomach.

"Someone's getting the beatdown," Buffy said, pressing her ear close to the door. "Hmm, it seems to be over now." She looked at Kyoko. "What else do you know?"

Kyoko smiled lightly. "There's only one way out of this cell, and it's through that door." She pointed at the wooden door, Buffy's current obsession. "It doesn't lead to freedom."

"So where does it lead, then?" Buffy demanded.

"Death."

As if the magic word had been spoken, the wooden door began to shake as it was lifted. The inward flux of brillant white light hurt Tohru's eyes to the point where she was forced to close them. As soon as she did, she felt herself shoved forward. Moving without question (and still believing that she and Buffy were being set free), Tohru's ears filled with the sound of cheers.

"Ladies and gentleman, it's time for a lovely show," came an unmistakeable, boisterous voice booming from what must have been speakers. "Don't you just hate those people who can't pay their taxes? They're the reason for the annual increases you have to suffer!"

The crowd jeered and booed in response.

"Kyoko Honda and Hana Sakijima have skipped out on paying their taxes for the past six months, and _you've_ been picking up their slack. Dear audience, they'll receive their comeuppance today, and you get the front row seats. These Byaskar demons have been starved for the past week that these ladies have been in their cell. Hungrier beasts you shall never see. Those of you with weak stomachs, oh why are you here? This is going to be fantastic!"

Tohru slowly opened her eyes as they adjusted to the light. She could hardly believe what she saw. Her ears had not deceived her.

Ayame Souma sat high up in the back seats of the Coliseum-type structure, holding a microphone and crooning lovingly into it. He looked every bit as flashy and stylish as the Ayame she knew, but the things he said were too much. Too...

_What's going on?_

"Oh, it appears we have two other lovely ladies taking part in the festivities. Well, the more the merrier, right folks?" Ayame twirled the microphone as the crowd hollered back.

As Tohru's eyes scanned the seats, she recognized too many of her friends. Seated in a group, most likely a private area, were Hatori and Shigure, at the top near Ayame. Directly below them sat Hatsuharu and Yuki. The rest were strangers, smiling down at them.

Growling.

Was that my stomach? Tohru wondered, placing her hand on her midsection. She hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon, and surely she was starving.

There was no time to tell. The sight of the demons had fear immediately occupy Tohru's mind completely. Everything else fell away.

The only sounds were the light growling of the hungry demons and light cheers from the crowd. Tohru was frozen, and she felt sure that Hana and Kyoko were right along with her. The demons were hideous creatures, sinewy and muscular with razor sharp claws on the end of their spiny fingers. Their large eyes were red and cruel, peering from the sides of their large heads set atop their thin, long necks.

"Five. Five Byaskar demons."

It took Tohru a moment to place the strong, female voice that spoke. Buffy.

When she got no response, Buffy repeated herself louder. "Five Byaskar demons? That's so unfair!"

She silenced the crowd with her voice. Finally, Shigure called back, his voice casual, "Well, whoever said life was fair was obviously a liar, sweetcakes. Five demons versus four luscious girls, well, that's what we call reality."

Tohru watched the slow smile creep over Buffy's face. She doubted Shigure could see it from far away, unless he had binoculars with him, but it filled her with a slight sense of hope. _She knows what she's doing._

_You shouldn't fear death. You're already dead._

"Reality? You call this reality? Is this a world of lunatics? How often does this happen outside of these walls?" Buffy shouted back. "You're just lucky I'm here or you'd have a bloody mess to clean up!"

Shigure laughed loudly. Buffy must have amused him. _He still has his good humor, even if it is evil,_ Tohru mused. "Doll, don't worry about the blood. The demons tend to drink that first, and then eat the meat. They really know how to savor a good meal."

Buffy waved his words away. "Byaskar demons, though hideous and ghoulish in appearance, are really like the black sheep of the demon world. Other demons shun them because of their growling, drooling, and general stupidity, and vampires hate 'em because of the whole blood drinking rivalry thing. I'm very surprised you chose them for this little 'event'. Too bad you don't have front row seats. This _is_ going to be quite the show."

In a flash that Tohru couldn't follow with her eyes, Buffy took off for the pack of demons. Growling and grunts were all Tohru heard as Buffy fought. Then, five sickening cracks in rapid succession. Buffy was grinning broadly as the last demon fell limply from her hands, its neck twisted at a gruesome angle. "See? So not fair to them," Buffy said with mock-sympathy. "Maybe if there had been ten of them, they would have stood a chance. I mean, everyone and their mother knows that Byaskar demons have necks like tissue paper. One snap and it's as good as dead, really."

The entire coliseum was bathed in silence. Tohru broke it by clapping her hands and smiling. "Buffy!" she exclaimed. "You did it!"

"Yes, you certainly did," Shigure said coldly, standing. He wore his standard gray kimono but appeared stiffer, more formal somehow. Maybe it was his demeanor. "Those demons aren't cheap, little lady, and you've ruined a perfectly good show."

"Oh, killing people for not paying their taxes is so fourteenth century. Get with the nineties, for God's sake," Buffy scoffed. "Don't you have TV here?"

"I like her," Ayame spoke into the microphone, breaking some of the tension that had filled the air. "Everyone, let's give a hand to the hot little firecracker down there. Tell the people your name, sweet girl, and it shall ring aloud in a chant fit for a--!"

"Stop," Hatori said authoritatively.

"Yes, Hari!" Ayame sang, returning to his microphone twirling.

"What is your name?" Shigure asked Buffy. "And yours." He pointed at Tohru.

"I'm Tohru Honda," Tohru said, feeling a bit sad that the Soumas didn't know her.

_Right, I'm dead here. I forgot._

Buffy scoffed. "I don't think I want to tell my name to people who just a minute ago were cheering for my death when I did absolutely nothing wrong. Tohru and I were told we would be held until morning and then released, not sent out for the slaughter."

"Hmm," Shigure said, resting his chin on his hand. "I guess someone must have messed up and placed you in the wrong cell. It's so very hard to get good help these days."

Yuki stood suddenly, murmuring something to Shigure that Tohru was unable to hear. Judging by the sour look on Shigure's face, it was something unpleasant. Hatsuharu followed Yuki down the aisles and out of the building.

"Well, this party really died," Ayame said sorrowfully into the microphone. "Oh, fair audience, don't judge us too harshly, for it shant happen again. Please come back next month, and we promise a much more pleasant viewing experience for you. Good day, all. This is Ayame Souma, signing off." He made a grand gesture with a wide sweep of his arm, the grin on his face charming. _He seems the same in so many ways, but he's not._

He couldn't be.

"What do you want?" Shigure asked Buffy, his brown eyes trained on the girl with slight interest.

Buffy smiled. "First, you let Kyoko and Hana go. Second, you stop these stupid death games. Third, you help Tohru and me figure out what the hell is going on."

Shigure chuckled. "That's a lot of things you're asking of me, and I don't see what I stand to gain from any of it. Kyoko and Hana committed a crime, and this was to be their punishment. These 'death games' as you call them are a tradition founded by the head of the Soumas, Akito. As for helping you figure things out, I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." He smirked. "In other words, baby, get bent."

"How about I jump up there and rearrange your face?" Buffy said, nodding vigorously. "Yeah, that'd be fun, and fitting."

"I'd love to see you try and get up here, honey kitten, I really would. Might get me all hot and bothered to see you claw at the wall like that."

"God, do you ever run out of stupid sexist pet names?" Buffy asked, rolling her eyes. She placed her hands on her hips, staring intently at the wall.

Tohru cleared her throat. "Well, Buffy, he did write romance novels."

Shigure's eyes left Buffy to graze Tohru. He looked genuinely pleased. "Someone here has done their homework. Are you a fan?"

Before Tohru could reply, Buffy leapt over the ten-foot wall easily, jumping over the seats up to Shigure as spryly as a grasshopper. Her hands wrapped around his collar, and she pulled him up out of his seat. "Hot yet?" she hissed in his face.

The shock on Shigure's face was priceless. "Whoa."

"Yeah," Buffy agreed, dropping him back down and moving backwards. "Change your mind about those favors yet?"

"What do I get?" Shigure asked stubbornly.

"Please," Tohru called out, looking up at Shigure earnestly. She wasn't sure he could see her face, but she held on to the hope that a piece of the old, caring Shigure she knew existed inside this man. "We're lost, and we have nowhere to go."

"We'll talk," Shigure said finally, looking reluctant. "I can't promise anything, but if I can help, I will."

Tohru smiled. "Thank you."

"And what about Hana and Kyoko?" Buffy demanded.

"It's out of my hands," Shigure said seriously. "Any decision like that has to go through Akito."

"Then I'll talk with him later," Buffy said. She moved closer to Shigure, lowering her gaze to his. "Now, just tell us what we need to know."


	3. The Cursed

**Disclaimer**: The characters are not mine, with the exception of the originals.  
**NOTE TO READER:** Rin and Kureno are in the manga, which I haven't read. I know the basics of their characters. For those of you in the dark, Rin is the horse. Kureno is the bird. Rin was Haru's girlfriend but broke up with him after an incident that left her hospitalized. Kureno takes care of Akito 24/7, is never seen by other Soumas other than the New Year's gathering.

Gossamer Remembrance  
_By, Heather B. Kytes_  
**Chapter Summary:** _They had changed, all of them. Nothing was the same as it had been three years ago._

**Chapter Three**  
_The Cursed_

Kyou Souma hated the world.

As usual.

"Damn rat," Kyou muttered, balling his hands into fists in his lap. "Damn."

Kyou had lost count of the battles he and Yuki had fought in the Coliseum. The number didn't matter, anyway. Nothing mattered except the outcome.

Tie.

Draw.

Stalemate.

_Nothing._

It was enough to drive him insane. He had come so far, going from getting his ass handed to him on a platter by Yuki to being able to match the rat blow for blow. They'd tied for the past three years in every battle they fought, whether it had taken place in or outside the Coliseum.

It seemed that whenever Kyou got better, Yuki was right there with him. There was nothing he could do to get ahead. It was impossible.

But he couldn't give up. She had told him... he could do it.

Kyou gazed at the distant Coliseum, the golden sun melting behind him. The dull gray building looked as new as it had the day it had been built. _How many people died there today?_ he wondered, the thought enough to turn his stomach.

He was thankful that battling Yuki was always the first event of the monthly Coliseum games. It gave him a chance to leave before the goryness that always followed. He didn't know why the other Soumas allowed Akito's craziness to stand. Well, of course Akito was still the head of the family, but letting him get away with murdering innocent people?

They had changed, all of them. Nothing was the same as it had been three years ago.

_Nothing._

* * *

Yuki Souma gazed up at the ceiling where he heard movement.

"Stupid cat," he muttered.

The sour mood from earlier had only gotten worse. He had been so sure that today was going to be the day he finally beat Kyou again. He had awakened from a distant dream that had left him with a feeling of strength. After spending the entire morning practicing his fighting and perfecting his new moves, he had walked away feeling invincible.

Only to be matched. Again.

Yuki had never realized how important it was to his happiness that he was able to defeat the cat in battle. He supposed he had taken it for granted before, and now that it was a memory, it seemed all the more vital to his well-being. _The world isn't right anymore. It hasn't been right for the past three years._

That girl in the arena today, killing the Byasker demons practically in the blink of an eye, intrigued him. Her speed, her strength, he was sure she could take him on and have a chance of winning. He had never seen a female display so much power.

Except Scarlett, who had an excuse, being the Slayer and all.

* * *

Hatsuharu Souma remembered.

Three years ago... it seemed like forever. The moment he had come to the realization that everything he had ever done in his entire life was meaningless, that the miserable world that had cursed him was coming to its fiery end, was frozen in time, locked away in his mind where no one could take it away.

He had been the first to see the blood.

The crimson rain, pouring from the sky like the tears of God himself, coating the land, sticky, coppery, the smell. How could he ever forget that?

Hatsuharu remembered.

The way the red drops slid down Yuki's pale face, stark scarlet against the pale backdrop of dewy skin. Momiji's cry of terror as the sky rumbled with a sound that was distinctly _not_ thunder but just as ominous, as deadly. The surreal feeling that drenched the air as the ground cracked open and hideous creatures sprang forth.

Drinking the blood.

Haru couldn't remember how they had escaped.

He had turned black, and everything faded.

* * *

Kisa Souma tried to forget.

Hiro Souma looked at her.

"I want to take care of you," he said, his cheeks tinting pink as they usually did when he was baring his soul to her. He wished to hell he had outgrown such childish emotional reactions, but his body thought otherwise.

He realized it didn't matter. She wouldn't look at him.

She wouldn't move.

He pleaded softly, "Kisa, please. His hands trembled for the want of touching her. He didn't know what else to do with them, so he clenched them into fists, holding them in his lap.

She lay in bed like a corpse awaiting its autopsy.

He tried again, "I-- I really care about you." Fuck, couldn't he just say 'love'?

No.

She didn't blink.

He felt another piece of his heart shatter.

She was beautiful.

He gave up.

She was dead.

* * *

Ritsu Souma stared blankly out the window.

Another dreary day.

The sun was shining brightly, but its light never seemed to touch the earth's surface anymore. Everything was cold, gray, dull, dead.

He knew it was stupid to feel that any of it was his fault.

Still...

He was sorry.

Momiji Souma lay on his back in bed, eyes closed.

He opened them the instant he began to drift out of consciousness.

Sleeping brought the dreams.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he was practically delirious from lack of sleep.

He imagined the ceiling turning to blood and dripping into his eyes.

He closed them when they began to burn, like fire pokers crammed into his optic nerve.

He tried to recall the last time he had smiled.

Three years ago.

* * *

Rin Souma's scarsbegan to burn.

Alone in her dark room, she peeled aside the flexible collar of her shirt to inspect the dull pink scar that cleaved into her perfect white skin. Looking at the ugly mark in the flickering candlelight, she felt a light air of sadness touch her.

As clearly as if it had just happened, Rin remembered the feel of the sharp blade next to her skin, saw the wicked delight in the maniac's eyes as he looked down at her face, savoring her expression of utter hopelessness and fury. She could feel the slick pressure of his tongue against her wound, lapping at the blood that gushed from her torn skin. Heard his words in her ear. "You won't have him."

It was a shame he had been right.

* * *

Ayame Souma sang happily, "I'm here!"

He was rewarded with silence, but he had expected such a reaction. He danced his way down the path that weaved through the expansive graveyard, casting sideways glances to make sure he didn't pass the spot. On his very first visit, when he had been guided to the grave by one of the workers there, he had made sure to take note of the scenery so that on subsequent trips, he would be able to find it without assistance.

He spotted the tall tree with the heart carvings in its trunk, and abruptly left the path, carefully walking over the graves until he reached the one he was looking for.

Mine Kurame, 1973-1996  
An angel, may she safely fly home

He knelt by the gravestone, carefully placing the bouquet of white roses in the dirt next to the stone slab. A spot of blue rested in the center of the white flowers. They had wanted to bury her in one of those mass graveyards, but he would not hear of it. Sometimes being a Souma and having influence was a good thing.

She had been such a good employee.

Such a good friend.

He still would not weep for her. She would not have wanted it.

"So, Mine," he said cheerfully, his hair falling like a curtain to shade his face from the burning sun, "Let me tell you what happened at the Coliseum today."

* * *

Shigure Souma glanced at the two girls who sat silently in his drawing room.

The blonde one, the girl who had offed the feral demons without breaking a sweat, had a look of annoyance on her pretty features. Her green eyes were alert and watchful, and when she caught him staring at her, he quickly turned his attention to the next girl.

He couldn't have explained the feelings Tohru brought out in him, just as he couldn't say why her simple "please" had caused him to take her into consideration. She was nothing special to look at, really. Buffy was much more beautiful, much more physically appealing to him. However, something behind that innocent smile reached out to him. Something in it triggered a memory.

_I'm sorry. I didn't know this would happen._

He had never met her before. That he was sure of.

But he knew her.

* * *

Hatori Souma sat in the corner or the drawing room.

Smoking.

* * *

Kagura Souma preened in front of her vanity mirror, pursing her lips as she painted them with dark red lipstick. Some girls couldn't pull off such a shade, but on her, with her snowy skin as contrast, it looked great.

She examined her reflection, checking for flaws in her make-up. She found none.

Standing, she examined her body, which was encased in a body-hugging, sheer dress of the color black. Still perfect.

Her eyes moved by will of their own to the cat backpack hanging on the handle of her closet. An intense desire to put it back over her shoulders filled her, but she managed to resist the urge, instead closing her cosmetic case and turning away from the mirror.

She would see him soon.

She looked down at her bruised knuckles, trying to recall how they had gotten in such bad shape.

_Kyou lied to me._

She scarcely remembered knocking him down and pummeling his face, but the proof was right there on her hands and in the dim recesses of her mind.

"When will that boy learn?" Kagura muttered, shaking her head sadly. "Idiot."

* * *

Akito Souma smiled.

Kureno Souma watched the man from a window, his face impassive.

The water in the pond nearby rippled, distorting Akito's cast reflection. There was no breeze.

There was nothing.

Akito Souma laughed.

Soon.


	4. World of Chaos

**Disclaimer**: The characters are not mine, with the exception of the originals. Some of the dialogue in the fourth scene comes from the BTVS episode "Prophecy Girl".

Gossamer Remembrance  
_By, Heather B. Kytes_  
**Chapter Summary:** _Buffy stood, surprised as a pale wisp of a man slithered from behind her to stand before her, smiling eerily in the flickering firelight. His dark hair and eyes were vortexes of despair, his skin a blank canvas, his smile devoid of humanity._

Chapter Four:  
_World of Chaos_

"They think we're insane," Buffy said to Tohru in a hushed whisper as they waited in the hallway outside the drawing room door. Inside the room, Hatori and Shigure conferred after hearing the story of Buffy and Tohru's arrival into their world. Shigure had sent the girls out of the room with a curt, "I need to talk to Hatori alone."

Tohru placed her hand on Buffy's shoulder. "They'll help us."

Buffy sighed, looking upset. "Does it really matter? They can't help us. I guess it was stupid to think they could do anything."

Tohru gazed on sympathetically. "Things are strange here, that's for sure. I know these people, but they aren't the same as the ones I knew. In fact, I'd say they're like different people."

"I'm confused by their system," Buffy admitted. "From what they've unintentionally revealed, I can gather that they live under a system of War Lords. Shigure is the Lord of this domain, obviously, and I'm sure some of the others are Lords of other areas as well. This Akito person must be the guy connecting them all together."

"Akito is the head of the family," Tohru said slowly, unsure of how much about the Soumas she could reveal to Buffy. Maybe if she knew about the Zodiac curse...

No. She couldn't reveal the secret. Even though this was a different world...

A radical thought popped into Tohru's mind. _What if the curse doesn't exist here?_

There was only one way to test that theory, really.

"Head of the family? Are they all brothers or something?" Buffy asked, cutting into Tohru's musings.

"No, some are only distantly related to each other, in fact, most are. Ayame and Yuki are brothers," Tohru replied. "At least, they are in my world."

Buffy mulled it over. "Everything seems to be the same, at least basically. It's the circumstances that are all twisted. I'd really like to know what's going on back in Sunnydale."

"That's where you're from?" Tohru asked.

Buffy nodded. "Good old California, yeah."

Tohru grinned. "I bet it's nice there, all sunny and green."

"It was."

"You said it yourself, we'll get home," Tohru said cheerily upon seeing Buffy's dejected gaze. "I'm positive we'll get the help we need from the Soumas. I still believe they're good people."

"Good people who send minor criminals to die horribly in front of cheering strangers?" Buffy raised an eyebrow at Tohru. "And not caring if innocents get caught up in the proceedings?"

Tohru swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, clutching her golden locket instinctively. "That's Akito's rule, and they do what he says," she said quietly.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Isn't that peachy?"

The door to the drawing room opened, and Hatori looked down at them. "You may come inside," he said tonelessly.

The girls moved past him into the room. Tohru noticed again how odd the architecture and decor of the old house was. It was so... American. Obviously Akito has wanted it built this way, for whatever reason. Shigure reclined in his seat, puffing on a cigarette. "Well, we talked it over."

"And?" Buffy prompted impatiently.

Shigure shrugged. "And what? I have no idea how we can possibly help you. You said you were 'magically' transported to this place. I'm afraid I have no experience with magic. In fact, I'll go so far as to say it doesn't exist here."

"Bullshit," Buffy cut in. "Demons exist but magic doesn't? Get a clue!"

"The demons exist because of the rip in the hellmouth," Shigure said. "We are dependent on the Slayer to maintain the balance. Her origins are mystical, sure, but none of that magic exists anymore, at least not to my knowledge. You would do best to contact someone who has an inkling about this so-called magic."

Buffy froze. "The Slayer."

Shigure yawned. "What about her?"

"You know her?" Buffy asked.

"I've met her a few times, yes. Why do you ask?"

Buffy couldn't seem to speak, so Tohru piped up, "Buffy is a Slayer."

"There's only one Slayer, kid," Shigure said quickly. "This isn't her."

"In my world, I'm the Slayer," Buffy said quietly.

"It makes sense. That's why she's so strong," Hatori mused.

"Well, that's odd," Shigure said. "Two Slayers."

"There aren't... two Slayers here? In this world?" Buffy asked.

Hatori was watching Buffy carefully. "There's only one," he answered. "Her name is Scarlett."

"There were two in my world," Buffy said, looking like she had been prodded with live wire. "Because I died, and was resuscitated, another girl was called."

Tohru's head snapped to stare at Buffy. "You died?"

Buffy nodded mechanically. "When I fought the Master on the hellmouth, I drowned."

Hatori's eyes widened with what must have been surprise. "You were the one who failed to stop the hellmouth from opening," he said.

"No, once Xander brought me back to life, I killed the Master. I closed the hellmouth," Buffy said insistently. "I saved the world."

Hatori shook his head. "Not this world."

The truth was dawning in Shigure's eyes. "In this world, the hellmouth opened. Demons came pouring out and covered everything. A lot of people died, and a lot of Slayers were called and killed instantly. It was Scarlett who finally put together an army and battled the monsters back to hell. She was the one who killed the heavily guarded Master Vampire and resealed the hellmouth."

Buffy shivered. "That... that can't be true."

"Akito made a deal with the demons, before Scarlett was called. He was granted this land to rule as he saw fit. He appointed us as the 'warlords' and divided up the land among us. Once the hellmouth closed, he chose to keep governing the land this way. No one complained. The hellmouth was open for weeks. So much death and destruction had passed that everything changed. The Earth changed, forever." Tohru was surprised to see so many words coming from Hatori's mouth.

"They said I was dead here," Tohru said softly. "Maybe you are, too, Buffy."

"You have to be," Shigure said. "It's too much of as coincidence."

Buffy gasped for air, shaking her head vehemently. "No, I don't believe any of this! This is just some stupid alternate dimension that has no relation to mine. I'm not dead!"

"You said you were," Hatori reminded. "You just must have stayed that way here."

Tohru could see that Buffy was hyperventilating. "Buffy," she started, but before she could reach the girl, she was out cold, hitting the floor with a loud thud.

Shigure lowered his eyes. "Hari, I think we need to talk to Akito about this."

Tohru knelt by Buffy's side, shaking her gently. "Get up," she said urgently. She looked at Hatori desperately. "Are you still a doctor here?"

Hatori nodded, moving towards the fallen girl. "She's just fainted. I'll have her moved to a guest bedroom."

_He can't pick her up because then he'll change into his animal form,_ Tohru realized dimly. _And I'm too weak to pick her up. But..._

Both of them, dead in this world. Another coincidence?

Tohru wondered if Buffy's mother was still alive here, somewhere. Her thoughts drifted to the broken Kyoko Honda she had met.

Everything and everyone was so different here, and it seemed to all have changed for the worse.

The world had lived through hell and survived.

But at what cost?

Hatori spoke on the phone quietly. Shigure looked wearily at Tohru, as though the trip down memory lane had been rough on him. "Would you like to rest? Do you need something to eat?"

"I--I can make something for dinner," Tohru said hesitantly.

Shigure waved at her dismissively. "I have people I pay to do that. Are you hungry?"

Tohru nodded finally, feeling guilty.

"Dinner should be ready soon. You can join us." Shigure sighed, his eyes moving to Buffy's fallen form. "This can't be easy for you," he murmured.

Smiling, Tohru shook her head. "It isn't, but I know everything will be okay."

"Why's that?" Shigure asked.

The smile remained, though it was touched with the faintest of sorrows. "My mom told me."

* * *

_"Buffy, if the Master rises..."_

_"I don't care! I don't care. Giles, I'm sixteen years old. I don't want to die."_

_"You still don't understand your part in all this, do you? You are not the hunter."_

_Helpless. Trapped._

_"Prophecies are tricky creatures. They don't tell you everything. You're the one that sets me free."_

_Drowned. Dead._

_"If she's drowned, there's a shot. CPR."_

_"Come on. Come on. Breathe."_

_Nothing._

_"Buffy..."_

_Dead._

_The Master smiled. "My world. My beautiful world."_

_The Hellmouth opened. Blood rained from the Heavens, from Hell._

_The world was chaos._

The way it should have gone.

Buffy opened her eyes to the dark, unsure for endless moments of where she was, of who she was. All she could remember was her final hours.

What should have been her final hours.

She felt cold all over and pulled the fluffy blanket up over herself. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly, and she saw she was in a small bedroom. _I must have fainted_ she thought as everything that had happened rushed back into her head. _How embarrassing._

Reluctant to leave the warm comfort of the bed, Buffy nevertheless pushed the sheets down and swung her legs over the side. She could feel how bad her hair must have looked, but in her current state of apathy, she couldn't expend the effort to smooth it down. She headed for the door and left the room.

Her ears picked up on hushed whispers nearby. She followed the quiet voices until she pinpointed the room from which they emanated. Beathing silently, she eavesdropped. She felt slightly guilty until she realized they were talking about her.

"Another Slayer? Get serious," a loud, obnoxious voice spat. Buffy could practically hear the eye-rolling in his tone.

"Yes, Shigure. You expect us to believe that this girl is a Slayer from another dimension that got sent here magically? She's most likely a mental patient escaped from the hospital," a quieter voice said. Though soft-spoken, there was danger in that voice.

"You saw her fight today. She fought those demons like Scarlett, like a pro. If she's not a Slayer, than what is she?" a voice Buffy recognized to be Shigure's demanded.

Buffy got annoyed with the lack of the visual, and moved closer to the curiously open room. She peeked inside to see Shigure and two other strange men sitting in a circle in front of a blazing fireplace. The room was lavishly decorated with an array of royal blues, golds, and ivories with beautiful paintings adorning the walls. Buffy didn't have much of a chance to study the room in detail, as she was more intent on the people resting inside.

"Just some stupid freak who knows martial arts?" the orange-haired owner of the rude voice offered, looking annoyed as he trained his dark eyes on Shigure, who was sitting with his profile to the doorway. "I could have killed those demons easy, so I'm betting anyone with any sort of extensive training with fighting could do the same."

"She was tiny," the gentle voice mused, belonging to a silver-haired pale man with piercing violet eyes. "Her strength did seem unnatural."

Shigure laughed low in his throat. "You haven't heard the rest of it. Hari thinks she's a Slayer from a time long ago, before the hellmouth opened. The Slayer who caused it to open in the first place, to be exact. Apparently, in her world, she was brought back to life somehow and managed to kill the Master and close the hellmouth."

"No damn way," Orange-o scoffed. Buffy had pulled back out of sight, but could recognize who was speaking now from the voices. "She's just some fighter chick."

"I would like to talk to her," Violet-Eyes said softly.

"She passed out once Hari and I told her about the other Slayer. She's in the guest room a few doors down the hall, and I think we should let her rest for a bit and let all of this information absorb."

"I think we should kick her the hell out of the house," the Orange Jerk interjected. "Sounds to me like you're asking for trouble, taking her in like this."

Buffy couldn't let his asshole remarks stand. "I think I'll be leaving now," she said, entering the room and placing her hands on her hips. "Just tell me where Tohru is, and we'll go."

The boy with orange hair seemed to freeze in his seat. "T-Tohru?" he stammered.

"Oh, let me guess at this one," Buffy said sarcastically, pretending to think deeply. "You knew the Tohru from this world, the one who died some time ago, right?"

The boy's mouth closed, and he glared at her wordlessly.

"Listening at the door, hmm?" Shigure asked, turning his head to gaze at her. "Doesn't surprise me, really."

"Whatever. You were right, there's really nothing you can do for me and Tohru. I need to speak with someone who knows magic. Thanks for the hospitality and all, but we're gonna jet. Where's Tohru?"

"Miss Tohru Honda is sleeping," the boy with silver hair said, catching Buffy with his lovely eyes. "She ate dinner and retired for the evening. She seemed exhausted." His eyes left Buffy and slid over to OJ. "I guess you shouldn't have skipped dinner today, cat. You may have seen an old friend had you come. Where do you know Tohru from?"

Shigure held up his hands. "Kyou, Yuki, don't start. I'm sure it isn't important." He looked at Buffy. "I'm afraid I have to agree with Yuki. It would be best if you let Tohru rest and left in the morning, though I can assure you I have no objections with you staying."

Rolling her eyes, Buffy snapped, "What do I have to gain by staying here again?"

"Understanding," a voice of chilled wind whispered at her back. "Why you were brought here."

"Akito," Yuki breathed.

Buffy stood, surprised as a pale wisp of a man slithered from behind her to stand before her, smiling eerily in the flickering firelight. His dark hair and eyes were vortexes of despair, his skin a blank canvas, his smile devoid of humanity. She remembered Shigure's words from earlier, _"Akito made a deal with the demons..."_

She had no doubt he had sold his soul.

"You know why I'm here?" Buffy asked skeptically, not backing down even as Akito leaned closer to her.

"I know a lot of things," Akito replied cryptically, peering at her with the cold calculation of a snake contemplating the taste of its dinner. "But this isn't the time or the place to discuss them. Not in front of... outsiders." His smile turned in Kyou's direction, and the boy of odd orange hair flinched under the weight of it.

"Fine, you can play the cryptic, I really don't care what seemingly useful, in fact useless things you want to tell me. As soon as Tohru's up, we're gone." Buffy's strong words were dissolved instantly as her stomach chose that time to growl loudly in hunger.

Yuki and Shigure laughed at her, while Akito and Kyou seemed to preoccupied to notice. "We will talk, Miss Summers. Tomorrow, before you leave," Akito said, whisking himself out of the room.

"Yuki, do be so kind as to take Buffy to the kitchen. She can eat Kyou's leftover meal," Shigure said.

Yuki stood as Kyou snapped out of his daze and yelled, "I don't think so, you damn bastard! I still have to eat!"

Shigure smiled innocently. "Well, you shouldn't have brooded up there on the roof so long, then."

"I was about to eat when you called me in here for this stupid meeting!" Kyou exclaimed, his cheeks flaming with anger. His hands were balled into fists as he towered over the reclining Shigure.

Buffy sighed. "I'm not hungry," she insisted, her ears tiring of the shouting.

"Your growling stomach betrays you," Yuki said quietly. Buffy was surprised to find him next to her, staring at her intensely. She had the unsettling feeling of being dissected by his gaze.

"I don't want your damn food anyway, it tastes like crap!" Kyou said, changing his tune so fast it made Buffy's head spin. He started to stomp out of the room but stopped when he found Buffy blocking the door. "Move!"

Oh. She _hated_ being talked to like she was someone's pet.

Buffy smiled warmly at him. "What's the magic word?"

Kyou looked at her humorlessly. "Out of my way," he ordered coldly.

"Nope, not it. Try again later," Buffy replied, pushing him hard and causing him to fall back on the floor on his ass. "Jerk. Next time say please."

"Kyou doesn't know the meaning of that word," Yuki explained, taking Buffy's arm and trying to lead her out of the room. She shook him off.

"I don't need an escort," she said.

"What kind of a crazy bitch are you?" Kyou grumbled, picking himself up off the floor and brushing at his clothes.

Buffy glanced at him. "Just the Slayer."

"Yeah, Scarlett's insane, too," Kyou conceded, walking forward. He stopped in front of Buffy. "Planning to not block the doorway any time soon?"

"Where's the kitchen?" Buffy asked, figuring she would need to satisfy her hunger in order to keep her strength up.

"I'll show you where it is if you move," Kyou said reluctantly. He may not have been used to making such deals.

Buffy moved aside and let Kyou pass, following him as he walked down the hallway. She almost bumped into him when he stopped and whirled around abruptly. "What?" she asked.

Kyou shocked her by laughing. It was odd to see such a happy expression on his normally stormy face. "You just totally ditched Yuki. That was great!" he exclaimed.

"Oh," Buffy said, unaware she had done such a thing. "Oops."

"Whatever. The guy's a loser," Kyou said sourly, continuing his walk. "You'd do best to realize that now."

Buffy followed Kyou, ignoring his 'advice'. What did it matter, really? By the next day, she wouldn't have to deal with the Soumas anymore.

She instantly worried. _Tohru knows them from her other world. Maybe she won't be so eager to leave._

And what of Akito and his supposed answers? Should she entertain the idea that he could offer help?

Where would she go when they left?

She realized she had nowhere else to go.

"Watch out for the stairs," Kyou warned, sprinting down the two flights of stairs quickly. Buffy followed suit, her mind only half-focused on the task. She did fine until the final five steps, when she overstepped and began to fall forward, barely registering the fact that she was heading down.

"Oh, crap," Kyou muttered, watching as the blonde fell at him.

He caught her as she fell, cringing in anticipation of the 'poof' sure to follow.

"Sorry," Buffy mumbled into Kyou's shirt, straightening herself and trying to move out of his arms.

His grip was tight.

"Um, you can let go now," Buffy said, looking up at Kyou's face. She was surprised to find an expression of pure shock there. "Kyou, what is it?"

His eyes met hers (upon closer inspection, they were a pretty sepia color), and he asked, "What are you?"

Buffy's brow furrowed in confusion. She was amazed at the change in his demeanor. "I'm the Slayer," she answered.

"Human?"

That earned him an eye roll. "Uh, yeah."

Kyou moved his arms from around her, stepping backwards quickly. "Right." He whirled around. "The kitchen is over here."

Buffy walked behind him, still puzzled. Kyou sure was playing the part of Mr. Mood Swings beautifully.

"Do you know how to cook?" Kyou asked stiffly.

"Well, if your definition of 'cook' entails placing items in the microwave and pressing the power button, yes. Anything more complicated than that, then no." Buffy shrugged. "Just call me a modern girl."

"Shigure doesn't own a microwave, damn cheapskate moron," Kyou grumbled, rummaging around in the refridgerator. He pulled various items out and tossed them onto the counter. "I guess I can make something."

"Oh! I can make Kraft dinner!" Buffy exclaimed cheerfully, getting a blank look from Kyou in response. "Oh, what? You don't have Kraft dinner in Japan?"

Kyou yawned at her. "Nah, just that anyone can make Kraft dinner," he replied. "I was thinking more along the lines of real food."

"So you're a guy who can cook, then? That's pretty amusing," Buffy said, leaning back on her heels and grinning at the sullen boy.

Kyou began ripping into the packages he had removed from the fridge, pulling out pots and pans from the cabinet above his head. "When you have to fend for yourself, it's something you have to learn."

Buffy lowered her eyes to the floor, her thoughts returning to her life back home. How close had she come to being on her own? If not for Giles...

She sat down at the kitchen table and rested her chin on her folded hands, staring down at the polished wood. Her mind was becoming hazy again with the weight of the unusual situation. It was too surreal, to be in this place, with these strange people, so far from home. For the first time since her arrival, she faced the very real possibility that there might not be a way back.

She faced the question of what she was so eager to run back to.

_I've been in this sitch before. Another Slayer there to take the blows, to guard the world. I'm free again, free to try and live a normal life._

But what was normal about any of this?

"Hey." Startled, Buffy looked over at Kyou, who was watching her with an eyebrow raised. "How did you know about Tohru?"

"You mean that you knew her?"

Kyou nodded. "Yeah."

Buffy shrugged, returning her gaze to the bare table. "It was just an educated guess. Your reaction to her name, I dunno, was kind of similar to Hana and Kyoko's reaction. You see, Tohru knew all of the Soumas in her world, but none of them have batted an eye at her, except for you."

"She was just a friend," Kyou said quickly. "It's not important."

He was a terrible liar.

"I'm sorry about pushing you down earlier," Buffy said listlessly. "I was pretty irritated by the things you three were saying behind my back."

"Watch out for Akito," Kyou said seriously, ignoring her apology. "Guy's been even crazier since he made that deal with the demons. He was supposed to have died from his illness by now, but he seems to be healthier than ever. It's pretty frightening."

"I can take care of myself," Buffy said curtly, rubbing at her face tiredly. The exhaustion had hit her out of nowhere. She was really starving.

Kyou was silent for a moment before speaking, "I'd like to ask you a favor."

Buffy looked at him expectantly. "Don't get your hopes up," she advised.

"I want to talk to Tohru before you leave tomorrow," Kyou said, turning his back to Buffy. "I just... have to."

"Okay," Buffy said hesitantly. She brightened. "It's the least I can do, since you're being so kind to make me dinner."

"I'm supposed to be making something for you, too?"

Buffy's mouth twisted in annoyance. She was about to say something when Kyou turned to face her again. The teasing smile on his face destroyed any part of her that felt anger.

He was a new person when he smiled.

_She looked at him wonderingly, his sullen face appearing dark and dead in the moonlight. She reached out hesitantly to touch his neck, and he flinched when her fingers neared his cuts._

_"Let me see it," she said._

_"I'm fine," he insisted, moving her hand away._

_"Don't be so difficult. I just want to make sure it's not serious." She tried again, this time stopping when his hand covered her own._

_"I'm fine," he repeated, gently this time. He looked down at her, his reddish brown eyes softening as they lit upon her face. A smile crept over his lips that brightened everything. "You're here."_

Buffy shook herself out of the vision to find Kyou raising an interested eyebrow at her. She had the feeling that was to be a familiar gesture between them. _He thinks I'm weird._

She _was_ weird. Where the hell had that vision come from, and what the hell did it mean?

Kyou confirmed Buffy's suspicions about his sentiments. "You're an odd girl."

Buffy sighed. "That's right. I'm Oddball Buffy."

Kyou shrugged, stirring the substance boiling in the nearby pot. "At least you're not boring."

"Yeah, that's what I used to think," Buffy said, gazing out the window at the black, starless night. "Right now? Wishing for boring."

"I can't stand being bored," Kyou said. "I hate it."

She thought she saw a star twinkling somewhere in the endless nothing outside, but when she blinked, it was gone. "I feel like I've met you before, somewhere. Some time," she murmured dreamily, only half-aware that she was speaking at all.

Buffy felt Kyou watching her. She could tell he was puzzled. "I don't see how that could be possible."

"I know," she said gently, staring down at the table once more. A smile came from nowhere to lift her lips. The sadness that hit her then had no discernable source, just like the force that had brought her into this new world. Her voice fell to a whisper that never reached Kyou's ears. "I remember."


	5. Akito's Theme

**Disclaimer**: The characters are not mine, with the exception of the originals.

Gossamer Remembrance  
_By, Heather B. Kytes_  
**Chapter Summary:** _The silence grew between them as Kyou fidgeted, feeling foolish. Tohru was staring down at her hands clasped in her lap. "I knew her," he blurted out._

**Chapter Five**  
_Akito's Theme_

Wrapped in the frail embrace of unconsciousness, Tohru dreamed. She was dimly aware that her footsteps fell in Dream Land, far from reality, but her mind was full of the questions that had plagued her during the eventful day.

_Where am I?_

_What's happening?_

_How do I get back home?_

An enormous mansion in grayish hues sprawled before her, dwarfing her in comparison to its size and elegance. She moved forward to the front door which lay open, beckoning her silently to enter.

Or perhaps not so silently. The flowing wind around her took the form of whispers, and they spoke to her. "Go away."

"Come back." This whisper... sounding like Yuki.

"Tohru, we need you." Shigure.

"I'm hungry, dammit. So just... make us dinner, okay?" Kyou, of course. All of them, her family, whispers at her back.

She almost turned around, they sounded so close, when it wrapped around her. The most persuasive whisper of all, vaguely familiar, laced with a hint of sensual promise, "Tohru, I've been waiting for you. Come inside."

Forgetting the voices behind her, she forged ahead, crossing the threshold into the gloomy mansion's interior.

Grand parlors awaited her inside. As with most dreams, the details were lost in a fuzzy haze around her, and all she could gather was a sense of its grandeur. What interested her lay ahead, just beyond the walls covered with lovely paintings. Past the carpeted floor, to the door across the way.

To him.

His whispers guided her, a silky caress across her skin. "Tohru. You have to walk faster. Over here, that's it. I'm waiting here for you, just for you. I need to see you."

"Akito," Tohru murmured, the sound of his name barely escaping her lips as her feet caught on the carpet and she tripped, landing hard on her knees. The floor had turned to hard wood, and she knew she should be feeling pain. She sensed the feeling rather than feeling it. She looked up from her position on the floor to see someone walking towards her.

He might have been ten feet tall, imposing and cold. A visible aura of blue surrounded him as he gracefully floated her way, his face covered by the shadow cast by the hood pulled tightly about his head. She felt his eyes on her as he moved soundlessly.

The whispers dwindled to a harmless buzz, and she thought she heard a quiet, "Goodbye, sweet."

"Akito?" she called, fear crashing into her and making it impossible to climb to her feet. Instead she cowered at the form rising above her, shielding herself from his dark eyes. "I don't know you," she said quietly.

"You do. I am everything you know," came the harsh reply. The voice that expelled from the person in front of her was indistinguishable by sex, by age, by species. It could have been an alien being peering down at her with blazing red eyes, burning her with the raging blue fire that seared from it.

Sweat poured into her eyes like rivers. "I don't know anything! I don't know where I am, why I'm here, or how I even came to be here! I just want to be back home!"

"You abandoned them. You came here, instead, to find him. It's too late for any of that. It's too late for you." A laugh like a banshee's wail pierced her ears, forcing her to cover them in futility.

"Where is he?" she cried out in panic, her voice straining to be heard against the screams that echoed around her. "Akito!"

Then, like the magic word had been spoken, she was whisked away from the horrible scene, into a safe pair of arms and a comforting embrace. "I'm here," the gentle voice spoke in her ear, moving her hands that tightly clenched her head and taking them in his own. He looked at her with his dark blue eyes, eyes that stood out as a bright beacon of color against the world of gray, eyes that spoke a million words she could not understand. "Tohru, you're fine."

She couldn't explain the fear that permeated her entire being, dripping out of her pores in a thin gleam of sweat. "No, no that can't be," she said, struggling in his arms. "I can't be here! I have places to be!"

Akito looked crestfallen at her words, but sighed in resignation, releasing her. "So that's how it is, then? This is your decision?"

"My decision?" she asked. "What decision?"

His eyes reflected her confusion, but his mouth was set in a delicate frown. "I see, then. How it will play out." He leaned forward and dropped a butterfly's kiss on her lips, brief and sweet. She felt heat rise in her cheeks at the intimate and unexpected gesture, her heart fluttering for an instant. "You know what I think. You know how I feel."

"What you--?" Tohru started, her mind reeling. _Kiss, my first kiss..._

Akito nodded. "You can't. I understand. You can't love one of us over the others. Even if... even if a part of you might want to." He backed away, disappearing in the colorless void that surrounded them, leaving her alone.

"No!" she exclaimed, reaching out for him as the alone closed around her.

He slipped out of her grasp at the last second, when her fingers almost touched him.

Too late.

_Too late._

Laughter came from the darkness, and the whispers turned into a scream.

She awakened to find it was herself that screamed and to a loud pounding at her door. "Dammit! Let me in, Tohru!"

She recognized Shigure's angry voice and scurried out of bed, unlocking the door and jumping back as Shigure hastily stormed inside, shooting her a deadly glare.

"Well?" he snapped, tugging on the front panels of his robe impatiently. "What is it?"

Tohru blinked at him. "Oh, um, I had a nightmare," she said when she realized what he was referring to.

Shigure cast her a look that spoke volumes of curses at her silently. He paced within her room, randomly looking around at the undisturbed scene. "Nightmare? You were screaming like the victim of a gruesome murder because of some stupid dream?"

Tohru nodded, feeling shame blossom in her cheeks. "I-I'm sorry, really. I didn't mean to--"

Shigure let out a deep breath, calming himself. "It's fine," he said stiffly, awkwardly moving past her to the door. "I thought you were being attacked or... something."

"Do attacks happen often here?" Tohru asked mindlessly. After a second's reflection, she wondered where the question had come from. It sounded like something Buffy might have asked.

Shigure shook his head. "Not too often. The guards around the perimeter of the house have been known to fall asleep on duty sometimes, so it pays to be careful." He glanced out into the hallway, looking nervous. "I'm surprised no one else heard you and came to see what was up. I guess it was a good thing I was working on my novel." He spoke quickly and quietly, more to himself than to her.

Tohru watched him with wide eyes. She felt rested despite her terrible dream, and a quick glance at the window showed that dawn was breaking. _My second dawn in this world._

"Where's Buffy?" she asked Shigure, who seemed frozen in place.

He appeared startled, whether by her voice or her question, she couldn't tell. "Oh, she's in one of our other guest bedrooms on the third floor. Look, the cook begins preparing breakfast in a few hours, so you might as well stay in here until the servants call you." He exited her room swiftly and stalked down the hall.

Tohru raced out of the room, calling after him, "Should I leave the door unlocked? That was how I..." she broke off as she remembered.

_I didn't lock the door._

Shigure paused and turned back to her, unreadable emotions flickering over his face all at once. "It might be best to lock it," he said softly. "If you think you'll be okay."

Tohru nodded. "Okay," she said. "Thanks for looking in on me."

If he heard her spoken gratitude, he didn't respond. Tohru went back inside and locked the door, staring at the simple handle lock as she backed away, sitting on the edge of the bed. _Who locked my door?_ she wondered, the thought plaguing her mind. _I shut the door after coming here after dinner, but I made sure not to lock it, so I wouldn't seem rude._

"It can't be important," Tohru murmured, staring down at the floor.

There was a knock on the door. Figuring Shigure had forgotten to tell her something, she opened it and was taken aback to see Yuki standing there, looking pale, elegant, and perfect in a crisply pressed suit and tie.

"Hello, Miss Honda," he said quietly, his voice pleasant like the slight tinkling of wind chimes. He smiled softly at her, his manner so much like that of the Yuki she knew, she felt her heart lighten. "May I come in?"

* * *

Kyou ambled down the hall towards the room Shigure had informed him that Tohru was sleeping in. His palms were sweating, and his heart raced from lack of sleep and his overwhelming emotions about the meeting to come. He felt extremely nervous, and he hated the fact. _Moron_ he chided himself.

He had been unable to sleep a wink and tossed and turned all night. In the few instances unconsciousness befell him, the nightmares had been unrelenting, so he had finally given up any notion of getting shut eye.

Even awake, however, he had felt no peace.

_ "Hi, Kyou!" that voice cut like a ray of sunshine through Kyou's previously black mood, instantly bringing the semblance of a grin to his face. He stopped in mid-stride, turning to watch as the cheerful girl bounded over to him. "How has your day been?"_

_"Been okay," Kyou lied, his body aching from the brawl he'd been in earlier that afternoon. The stupid punk had been asking for it, though, talking about Tohru like that. Like she was just some ditzy girl deserving of insult. He wouldn't bring it up with her. She didn't need to know._

_Tohru peered at him anxiously with bright eyes. "You look a little worse for the wear," she commented, her mouth twisting with concern. "You sure you're okay?"_

_"It's the weather," Kyou said, not altogether lying. These overcast, gloomy days always seemed to bring out his worst. It had been a cloudy day when his mother had... "I just hate when it gets like this."_

_"I don't know, even the rainy days have their charm," Tohru said cheerfully. "You know, days like this were just made for curling up in bed, reading a book. Just staying inside, with your family."_

_He felt himself lightening. The gray seemed to lift a little as her smile turned on him. He had no family, no friends. He didn't like to read, so basically her diatribe about the goodness of dreary days was lost to him. But he had to smile at her when she looked at him so earnestly. "Yeah," he said. "I guess you're right."_

"Hello."

Kyou nearly jumped through the roof, she scared him so badly. Tohru looked at him from her position sprawled on the bed, fully clothed and sitting next to the rat. He hadn't been expecting her to be awake, and he certainly hadn't expected Yuki to be there.

_So what the hell were you going to do? Watch her sleep, you freak?_

Mental berating aside, it was a good point. He pondered his motives, his goals. Maybe he'd wanted to see her with his own two eyes, to really see that she was alive. He certainly didn't know what to say to her.

But he knew what to say to Yuki. "What are you doing?" he shot at the smirking rat, glaring at his rival.

"Why, I'm just talking to Miss Honda a bit before breakfast. What might _you_ be doing skulking around at this hour? Don't you usually sleep in?" Yuki asked, his voice irritatingly pleasant.

"Whatever," Kyou muttered, staring at the ground. His worst fears and fondest hopes had been answered. It was really Tohru. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Yuki continued to stare at the him, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "Did you have something to say?"

"ARGH! Will you shut up and leave?" Kyou shouted at Yuki, losing his cool for a number of reasons, not the least of which the fact that Yuki ignited an inferno of boiling hatred inside him. He caught the amused look on Tohru's face as she looked at him, and he felt himself flushing.

_She's looking at me._

"I was here first," Yuki responded. He stood. "However, I should be on my way. I'm sure Miss Honda has some things to tend to in private." He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, placing a delicate kiss on her knuckles. "It was a pleasure, Miss Honda."

Tohru smiled brightly at up at him. "It was great to talk to you," she gushed.

Yuki sauntered past Kyou, making sure to knock shoulders with him on the way out of the room. Kyou was both relieved and terrified at his absence.

_Thank God that bastard's gone._

_Shit, now I'm alone with her._

"I didn't see you at dinner yesterday," Tohru said in a polite tone. "I was wondering if you lived here, but Yuki told me you did. I was going to come see you later."

"You were?" Kyou asked, shocked.

Tohru nodded. "Sure! I mean, I'm really interested in meeting all of the Soumas here. Back in my world, they're like my family."

Kyou scoffed. "Gimme a break. You must have a _real_ family."

Tohru looked at him, the light in her blue eyes dimming for a brief moment. She reached up to her neck and closed her hand around her golden locket. "I do," she agreed. "But we're very close. That's what I meant."

"Well, it isn't the same!" Kyou said angrily. He was taking his bottled emotions out on her unfairly, and he knew it. He just wasn't strong enough to stop. "We aren't _your_ damn Soumas."

Tohru nodded, unfazed by his anger. "I know that. I want to get to know all of you, too, and how it is here. I just want to understand."

"Understand what? What's so hard about any of this? The Souma clan rules Japan, for God's sake. Akito has an army of demons at his disposal to quell any resistance that might crop up. He even owns the damn Slayer. Absolute power, that's it."

"Isn't the Akito here sick?" Tohru asked. "The one in my world was very close to death."

"He sold his damn soul. He's already dead," Kyou replied, hating the sour tone of his voice. _She thinks I'm a prick, dammit,_ he thought. _I'm nothing like the Kyou she's used to._

Tohru looked saddened from his words. "I see."

The silence grew between them as Kyou fidgeted, feeling foolish. Tohru was staring down at her hands clasped in her lap. "I knew her," he blurted out.

Tohru's head snapped up. "What?"

_I didn't mean to say that!_ Kyou thought, panicked. His thoughts raced as he searched for some way to cover up his blunder. When he didn't say anything, Tohru prodded, "Who did you know?"

Kyou's heart raced, and he was taken back for a few moments, back to the moment she...

"Kyou? Are you okay?" Tohru was speaking, but Kyou was lost in a sea of the memories he'd been trying so hard to push away. In fact, he'd been certain they had been erased forever, as three years of strict repression had led him to believe. Now, in the span of two days, they were flooding back and consuming him.

He had never grieved. He had simply convinced himself she had never existed.

Kyou stared at the ghost, eyes wide with fear. He hadn't heard her speak.

"Kyou?" Tohru asked, moving to stand.

Her movement startled him out of his paralysis, and he backed up until his back hit the wall. The open doorway, escape, lay directly to his right, but it seemed miles away. "You shouldn't be here, you bitch. You should be dead," he said, the words cold and harsh spewing from his mouth. He felt no remorse for them, even when her face fell. He closed off every part of him that cared, and he left the room without another word.

* * *

Buffy's sleep had been surprisingly satisfying, given the strange circumstances. Her belly filled to the brim with Kyou's wonderful cooking, she had passed out as soon as her body hit the sheets. She had awoken to the sounds of someone calling her name, to find a servant informing her that Akito wished to see her.

Buffy had dressed quickly, glancing in the mirror to confirm that she looked as good as possible sans make-up. She had followed the young servant girl downstairs and through the garden in the back of the house where Akito's private quarters were located. She had knocked after the servant bowed and walked away, only to be bidden inside by Akito's cool, emotionless voice.

"I can't wait to hear this," Buffy said, flashing Akito an overly bright smile. She plopped down into the chair in front of his desk and gazed at him expectantly. "Well? What have you got for me?"

"This is a very interesting situation," Akito said vaguely. Buffy felt her annoyance rising and figured it was his smug smile that was getting to her. He had a perma-smirk on his face, at least from the times she'd seen him. Like he thought he was better than everyone else, or at the very least, her. He continued, "You have chosen quite the interesting time to come to us."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "You act like I came here of my own will. In case you've forgotten, I was brought here by something, or someone. Do you happen to know what or who this was, or are you wasting my time?"

Akito clucked his tongue at her, faking sympathy. "I can understand your frustration, really. You don't have to worry, Miss Summers. As long as you're within my kingdom, nothing from the outside will harm you here."

"Yeah, thanks for the protection yesterday when those demons were going to rip us apart. I'm sorry if I gave you the impression of being a weak female. See, I'm really not. I'm the Slayer." Buffy returned his smug gaze with a killer of her own that would have done even Spike proud.

"No, you're not. Scarlet Owens is the Slayer here. You're just some girl with Slayer-strength." His expression changed from self-satisfied to coolly detached. "You're a corpse."

She felt cold, suddenly, like someone had turned the air conditioner onto the "deep freeze" setting. There was always the troubling fact that the room had no air conditioning, though. She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling defensive. "Nice. Thanks. Now before me and Tohru leave, I have a little matter to take up with you. Hana and Kyoko, let them go."

Akito laughed at her. The laugh was soft and trickled through the air slightly, the tiniest hint of malice laced along its edges. "That won't happen. I'm not in the habit of letting criminals loose onto the streets, especially when their crimes were so grave." Buffy opened her mouth to speak, but he held up his hand, continuing briskly, "I'll tell you what. Why don't you take the matter up with Shigure and Yuki, as they're the ones who brought up the charges against them. If you can get their consent, I'll let the girls go. How's that?"

"Stupid with a side of sadistic. It's the best I'm gonna get out of you, so I'll take it." Buffy stood. "I guess this means I'll have to stick around for a bit longer, so you win. For whatever shady reason you want to keep me and Tohru here, anyway."

"I don't know why you continue to be so paranoid. I want to help you, Buffy. And Tohru, also." He picked up a pen from his desk and began to move it deftly between his fingers. In a conversational tone, he asked, "Have you ever heard of the Aquamarine?"

Buffy was curious despite her best attempts at apathy. "No."

"It's an ancient artifact said to possess the power to bend space and time. The tales of its existence are merely old legends that no one believes. However, Scarlet's Watcher professed to know of a prophecy that said it would be proven to exist." Akito watched her intently. "Do you understand?"

"You think this 'marine' thingy brought me and Tohru here? And the prophecy's been fulfilled?"

Akito nodded. "It fits, does it not?"

"Maybe. Can I talk to this Watcher guy?"

"No. He's dead." Akito looked like he could not have cared less.

Buffy frowned. "Well, she has a new Watcher now, doesn't she?"

"No. They never sent her another. I believe they're too busy trying to rebuild and regroup. When the Hellmouth opened, the demons' main targets were the Slayer and the Watchers. Old grudge, I believe."

"Old?" Buffy wondered aloud.

Akito shot her a knowing look. "Read up on your world history, Miss Summers?"

Buffy wrinkled her nose. "That was, what, Sophomore year? Like I remember any of that!"

"Not what they tell you in school. The real history of this place," Akito said. He trailed his fingers along the edge of his desk, seeming to enjoy her lack of knowledge. He smiled at her. "Didn't your Watcher ever tell you about this world's past?"

"Maybe. I probably wasn't paying attention," Buffy replied breezily. She felt herself reverting to her carefree, younger self, and decided it was probably the best way to deal with Akito Souma. Best to hide her true self behind a facade of silly girlyness so he wouldn't know exactly what she was capable of.

She might need to surprise him later.

"Giles said a lot of things about demons and badness. Past is past, I always say," Buffy continued, tossing her hair back away from her face.

"You can learn a lot from the past," Akito said, unfazed by her flippancy. His tone was grave, yet it still carried that annoying undercurrent of condescension. Like he was telling something to a very young, stupid child. _He's got to be my age, at the most_, Buffy thought. _So what if he has a kingdom and legions of people at his beck and call? That's no reason to get all high and mighty._

Akito continued, "The world before human civilization was a world of chaos. Demons of every shape and size roamed the surface, feasting on the pain, on blood, on each other. In its natural state, the Earth never minded the demons' presence. Though horrific creatures in the mind of any human being, they had never been destructive to the Earth in any way. They had a strange reverance for the land on which they lived."

Buffy frowned at him. "You sound like a textbook."

Akito shrugged. "Where do you think I found all of this out? It's all in the ancient texts the Watcher's keep under lock and key. I sent some of my people to ransack their headquarters, or what's left of them, anyway. If any of it's true, which I'm inclined to believe it is, we're in a lot of trouble."

"What do you mean?" Buffy demanded.

"History repeats itself, Miss Summers," Akito responded. He dropped the pen onto the desk and sat up straighter in his chair. He leaned towards her slowly. "Don't you want to know where your power comes from?"

Buffy fidgeted. "Call me Buffy. And yeah, I guess I'd be interested to know that." Actually, she'd never really given it much thought. Here though, what else was there to think about?

Akito placed his hands on his desk and folded them together. Buffy could tell he was going to start a long tirade at her. "A primitive race of pre-evolutionary humans also lived on the surface, in small colonies on the outskirts of the Earth's consciousness. Their purpose to the demons was of food, of play. However, the wheel of time turned and the evolution of the humans was slow but constant.

"They began to forge weapons and fight back. The demons rulers of the land had no use for such puny rebellions and decided that the human presence was no longer needed on Earth. They could just eat each other, as the different species of demon had always done. As the plan of extermination began, the primitives were given a fighting chance, in the form of the Slayer."

Buffy's breath caught in her throat, and she forced herself to exhale through her nose. She watched Akito carefully. He had an eerie way of staring at her while he talked, his midnight blue eyes shining clear even in the early morning sunlight. Though bright, his eyes were still black holes into the void where his soul should have been.

Akito's lips curved into a slight smirk. "Origin unknown, this lonely girl was granted the strength to fight the demons and beat them. The First Slayer's will was strong, and the demons were overwhelmed by the girl. Using ancient, dangerous magicks, they summoned a being from the depths of space to devour humanity. This was Malas."

"Please, how could one girl, even a Slayer, have the strength to fight an entire planet of demons? This is such BS," Buffy interrupted, rolling her eyes. Her voice took on a hint of sarcasm. "Just because the texts are ancient doesn't mean they're true, you know."

Akito was nonplussed by her skepticism. "I've seen it to be the truth, Miss Summers. I have connections in the demon world that have confirmed my suspicions over this information."

"And they aren't liars, because evil demons are always beacons of truth." Buffy scoffed at Akito. "Who could have guessed a cruel dictator like yourself could be so trusting?"

Buffy's reflexes were superb, even in the early morning hours only thirty minutes after having woken up. However, before she realized anything was even happening, she was on her back on the floor, and Akito was pressing down on top of her, holding her arms above her head in a surprisingly strong grip.

"You'll be careful the next time you think about insulting me," Akito said calmly, his face and voice betraying nothing but apathy, even as his actions showed otherwise. "You'll find that even with your Slayer strength, you're powerless against the least I have to offer." He leaned his head down and breathed softly on her neck, eliciting a disgusted shudder from his captive. "Do you understand?"

Buffy might as well have been trapped under a cement block. She struggled to think how a man with the build of Akito could be so damn strong. What exactly had he turned into?

Akito was not altogether pleased that she hadn't answered him in the affirmative. His head moved down further until his lips touched the skin at the nape of her neck, and he licked over Angel's scars, causing Buffy to start in shock. "Do you understand, or would you like me to continue?" Akito murmured.

"I understand," Buffy said through clenched teeth, rage pounding at her insides. _Powerless, to _him_. God, this is not good._

Akito stood and returned to his chair behind the desk. "I'm glad you see it my way, Miss Summers."

Buffy got to her feet, glaring at the smug man. "Whatever. Do you have anything useful to tell me?"

"Why don't you just go about the task of getting your little friends off the hook? Their execution is set for tomorrow. Normally I wouldn't rush a delicate thing like this, after all, we could use Miss Sakejime and Miss Honda in the next series of coliseum games, but their crimes were _so_ grievous, I'm afraid it has to be this way." The arrogance in his eyes showed Buffy the truth of his actions.

He was a bastard.

"I will," Buffy said firmly. "Yuki and Shigure, right?"

Akito nodded slightly. "You may leave now, Miss Summers. And you and your friend Tohru may stay at the main house, as well. I can't throw two helpless girls on the street, can I?"

Buffy's teeth ground together as Akito smiled at her. She wisely stayed silent and turned towards the door.

"You have a very sweet neck, Buffy. You had better be careful, or someone else may try to taste you," Akito said quietly to her back. "Girls have been known to... turn up around here."

Buffy whirled around. "What do you mean?" she demanded. "You said nothing would harm us here."

Akito lifted his thin shoulders slightly. "I said demons would not harm you, this is true. They are under my control." He cast her a sly glance beneath his brows. "Humans are harder to control than demons, Miss Summers."

She stared at him in confusion, and he waved her away. "It's nothing too important. Run along now."

Buffy's mouth twisted in a sour line, and she left the small building, stalking back up the pathway to the main house.

She wanted to check on Tohru.


	6. Frailty

**Disclaimer**: The characters are not mine, with the exception of the originals.

**Gossamer Remembrance**  
_By, Heather B. Kytes_  
**Chapter Summary:** _"What I have to say is very important. The least you can do is show some gratitude that I'm sharing it with you. Akito would kill me if he knew what I was about to say."_

**Chapter Six**  
_Frailty_

It hurt to look at her.

Hatsuharu Souma stood away from the bed upon which Kisa lay, trying to remain as emotionally detached as he was physically distant to her. His violet eyes roved over the plush carpeting, towards the bedposts, and finally up the thick bed coverings to the torso uncovered by blankets. Her thin arms lay rigid at her sides, and her face and neck were as pale as the downy sheets. Her eyes were open, but they couldn't see anything.

Kisa was blind.

They were all unsure of how it had come to be. Something bad had happened the day the hellmouth opened, and Kisa had been caught in the thick of it. She had been alone, walking home from school, as Hiro had been staying late to finish up a project that was due the next day. Whether she had been attacked or not was unclear, but Hiro had found her, by some odd stroke of luck, and she had been unable to see a thing.

Physically, there had not been a mark on her. Emotionally, she was shattered.

Three years now, and Kisa still would not talk. She still would not move, or eat. She was being fed intravenously and remained in her bed.

Haru visited her often, at least every other day. He would talk sometimes about things that were going on, but often he would just bring a book and read by her side. Sometimes he read passages aloud to her, the parts he thought she would find interesting. She never gave any indication that she heard him, but he liked to think she was listening.

He had no book to read to her today. He'd been unable to locate anything of interest in the vast library, so now he was left standing there, looking at her.

His mind was curiously blank. He was pushing his feelings down into the places he knew they'd be hard to locate. She was just a body, then, not the girl whose smile used to brighten his darkest days.

He wasn't sure how many minutes passed with him watching her, but all of a sudden, a cheerful voice rang out behind him, "My ears are burning!"

Ayame Souma waltzed into the room, smiling grandly at Haru as he moved to stand in front of him, blocking his view of Kisa. "We weren't talking," Haru replied shortly. He stared at the man apathetically.

"I know. I just thought it was a unique way to make my entrance," Ayame replied breezily, walking closer to Haru and brushing at his simple black cotton shirt. "Lint, lint, lint! Didn't they teach you how to use a lint brush at school?" "Just math and English," Haru replied, remaining still as Ayame fussed over him.

Ayame waved a hand in the air dismissively. "Now, now, who needs to know things like that when they're being drowned in lint? Prioritize!" He fininshed picking at Haru's shirt and patted him on the shoulder. "What have you been up to today?"

Haru blinked. "It's only noon."

"Yes, yes, the day's already halfway over," Ayame said, sighing wistfully. "Where does the time go?"

Haru remained silent.

Ayame shook his head ruefully. "I do hope you've had breakfast and lunch."

"No."

Ayame covered his mouth with his hand and grabbed Haru's right arm. "We must feed you, post haste!"

Haru gently removed his arm from Ayame's grasp. "It's okay. I'm not hungry."

"Of course you are. Look at you, all skin and bones. While the look is very chic and becoming on you, it's certainly not the picture of health," Ayame admonished. "When was the last time you had a good, decent meal?"

"I eat," Haru replied.

"Just not a lot, I know," Ayame said quickly. "I honestly don't know how you can resist Ryoko's desserts. They are just to die for." Ryoko was the main cook of the Souma household who prepared all the family's major meals.

Haru shrugged, turning his gaze back to the still figure on the bed.

Ayame was silent for a few moments, and Haru forgot he was there until he spoke, "Someday I'd like to see her looking different than this."

Haru started at the serious note in Ayame's voice and turned to look at the man beside him. His face was blocked from view by a thick curtain of silky hair, but his regret was evidenced by the slight hunch in his shoulders. Haru knew Ayame's moments of seriousness were few and far between, but they never failed to shock him on some level.

"The sun will do her some good!" Ayame sang, rushing over to the curtains and drawing them back, letting the feeble sunlight make its way into the room. It failed to bring an air of cheer to the gloomy interior, however Ayame was smiling brightly at his action.

"Lovely Kisa, she's a dear one," Ayame sang in a terribly accented voice. Haru raised an eyebrow at the man as he continued his improvised song. "Golden locks in golden sun. Tell me, how does she fly... so high?"

Ayame looked at Haru for approval. "I made it up myself," he said, as though it weren't self-explanatory.

Haru shrugged again, thinking the song was terrible and knowing Ayame knew that fact.

"Yes, yes, I should cut a record already and get myself out there to the drooling masses," Ayame said nonchalantly. He made his way back to Haru's side and poked him in the ribs. "Want to be my guitarist?"

"I don't play," Haru said.

"I know," Ayame said regretfully, hanging his head. "No one in our family has musical talents. What a shame. We're such a good-looking group, too."

Haru shrugged. "I guess so."

Ayame continued to talk as though afraid a moment of silence would hurt them. "I wonder where Hari is. Have you seen the man?"

"No."

Ayame scratched at the bottom of his chin. "He should have been here by now. He promised me we would go out today. Would you like to come, Haru?"

"I don't know," Haru replied dully, staring straight ahead at nothing.

"Come on, you could use the time away from this place. We're going to go to Hanabi Village, and have a few drinks. It'll be so fun you'd have to be crazy to say no," Ayame said cheerfully.

Haru glanced back at Kisa's still form, his eyes moving to the open window. It was so dark, it could have been dusk.

_There's nothing for me here._

"Okay," Haru said.

Ayame clapped his hands together. "Fabulous! Now we just need to find Hari, and we can get going. It takes an hour to get to the village, but the walk is very relaxing."

Haru had a hard time reconciling any excursion outdoors with the term relaxing. It always depressed him to see the bleak patches of dry earth where there had once been lush greenery and bright flowers. Even in the autumn there had been falling leaves to lighten the gloom. Now, there was nothing except the stale, dusty wind.

"Well, let's get going to look for Hari, then." Ayame paused in his hurry, looking curiously at Haru. "Unless you need to say something to Kisa in private. I can wait outside if you'd like."

Haru didn't look back at the figure on the bed. "I have nothing," he replied evenly. "Let's go."

* * *

Luckily, they had run into Hatori on their way out of Kisa's room. He had been taking a smoke break in the back of the house. He merely nodded when Ayame told him of Haru's joining them to Hanabi Village. He didn't care.

The walk turned out to be more relaxing than Haru originally thought. It was mainly due to Ayame's constantly pointing out the few patches of green that remained in their world. He seemed to have a knack for finding the small packets of flowers and grass that were few and far between. Their walk had no straight-forward path; Ayame was taking them on small detours to find more scenery to look at. He stopped them when he came to a patch of bright blue flowers.

"I found these the other day on my way to the graveyard," Ayame said brightly. "I picked one and put in on Mine's grave. They're called forget-me-nots, so it was wholly approriate. At least I hope she hasn't forgotten me!" He laughed.

Hatori nodded, looking down at the flowers with a blank expression.

Haru had the urge to pick one of the small flowers, but hesitated. The patch was small, and it seemed wrong to take one and decrease its size. "How can they grow in such dry dirt?" he asked.

"It's odd, isn't it?" Ayame said. "Some flowers thrive in the drier ground, though. As long as it rains sometimes, they're all fine and good. That's probably the case here. I can look into it, if you'd like."

"No," Haru said, looking away from the flowers. "It's no big deal."

"I'll have an answer for you by tomorrow!" Ayame said decisively, ignoring Haru's reply. "Come on, now. We'd better hurry to the village. You know they close down at eight now."

"I thought it was still ten," Hatori said, raising an eyebrow.

"Kagura changed it again. The demons are coming out earlier, and she doesn't want to have a bloody mess to clean up every night." Ayame let out a short breath. "I don't care what Shigure says, she really cares about her people."

Haru felt the falseness of that statement. Kagura cared about one person: herself. Her unwavering dedication to Kyou was an obsession with possessing something she couldn't have, and the people under her region of rule were only pawns to give her power. She had probably made the curfew earlier just to give herself less to worry about. After all, once the town was closed and the guards came out, there was little any demon could do to cause trouble.

Never mind what the townspeople thought about it. Maybe the trade off of freedom for safety was worth it to them.

Haru glanced down at his watch. It was a little past two in the afternoon. They had been walking for an hour and a half, much longer than Ayame had said it would take. He had probably misjudged the amount of time his detours would consume.

They reached the village within minutes. It was fairly bustling with people as they shopped in the outdoor market area. Ayame waved at the people behind the stands and politely dodged the sellers lining the sidewalk and trying to push their wares on unsuspecting passersby. The bar was located in the center of the tiny village, and with Ayame paving the way, the three of them arrived there in a few short minutes.

The inside of the bar was noisy with loud, brash voices and slurred speech. There was an empty corner of the bar reserved for the Soumas, so the three made their way past the rowdy crowd towards the remote corner. Haru was surprised to find someone seated there already.

Scarlett Owens, the Slayer, grinned up at the men as she sipped her frothy beer. "Fancy seeing you here," she remarked, her sensual red lips turned up in a seductive smile. Her eyes roved over Ayame and Hatori briefly before resting on Haru. Their black depths were unfathomable, but the way she licked her lips and the fact that she had told him before how much she wanted him left her thoughts an open book.

"Scarlett, dear, are you old enough to be here?" Ayame said, his voice thick with condescension. He made it no secret his dislike of the girl, and it was quite a feat to annoy Ayame. The Slayer's personality was grating, her large ego off-putting. Besides Akito and Kagura, Haru was hard-pressed to find a Souma that liked being around her.

Her smile became icy. "Ayame, _dear_, I can go where I want here. Kagura has explicitly given me permission to do whatever I please in her land. You can ask her yourself if you don't believe me, but I think you can tell I'm not lying." She raised her mug to her lips and took a long drink. "Why don't you sit down and join me? There's plenty of room."

Haru could think of a dozen things to do that sounded more appealing to him than Scarlett's proposition. Normally he wasn't bothered by girls who took a liking to him, but Scarlett was an exception to that rule. She creeped him out.

Ayame wasn't one to run away from a problem. "Sure, why not." He sat next to the girl and gestured for Hatori and Haru to sit across from them. "We didn't walk for two hours to let _you_ spoil our plans."

Hatori slid in first so that he was across the Slayer. She smiled warmly at them, waving the serving girl over to their table. "Three beers for my friends," she said loudly over the din. "I'm buying."

"We get it free," Haru muttered, staring at the table top blankly.

"Now, now, if the lady feels like throwing her money in the garbage, who are we to stop her?" Ayame said brightly.

Scarlett ignored the man next to her, focusing her attention on Haru. "What did you think of the Coliseum games yesterday?"

Haru looked up, meeting her gaze carefully. "What?"

Scarlett let out a small sigh. "I couldn't attend because of an prior engagement, but Akito told me all about it. Another Slayer. It's interesting to think about."

For no discernable reason, Haru felt a chill run through him as Scarlett's black eyes gazed at him. He kept his face impassive as he replied, "I guess so."

"You _guess_ so? It's wild," Scarlett said disdainfully. "Here I am, supposed to be the 'one girl in all the world', and now some chick comes outta nowhere singing the same song." She took another long swallow of beer and shook her head. "I don't know what to make of it. I wonder if I can kick her ass."

"Doubtful," Ayame piped in cheerfully. "She's quite good."

Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm sure she could have closed the hellmouths all by herself."

Ayame folded his hands together and rested his chin on them, glancing sideways at the girl. "And just how did you manage such a feat all by yourself, Scarlett?"

"It's what I was born to do," Scarlett replied testily. "It was easy. Anyway, I guess I'm not too worried about beating the girl up. I just hope she doesn't plan on horning in on my sacred duty."

Haru felt curious despite himself. Scarlett was purposefully concealing the details of how she had managed to close the hellmouths and save the world. He knew she must have had help somewhere (and he suspected Akito had a hand in everything), but he couldn't figure out how it had been done. There was no way he was going to do what she wanted to get an answer to the question, either.

She could have been reading his mind. "Haru, can we talk outside, alone? There's something important I have to tell you."

He didn't believe her for a second. The serving girl arrived with their beers, and he took a swig from his mug. "No thanks."

"It's important," Scarlett insisted, watching him carefully. "It will only take a few moments, then you can come back and sit with your buddies. Hey, I'll make you a nice deal. I won't come back in with you. I'll be out of your hair for the evening. All you have to do is come outside with me and get some very... valuable information."

"Oh, just do it," Ayame said, eager to get rid of the pest.

Haru shrugged, sacrificing himself for the good of his friends. Even though Hatori had remained silent, he knew the doctor didn't particularly appreciate Scarlett's presence either. "Fine. We can talk, that's it." He stood and made his way to the entrance.

Scarlett followed closely behind him, and when they were outside, she took his arm and led him down the alleyway that lay on the right side of the bar. It was a windy day, and the dust stirred in the air, making it almost impossible for sunlight to make its way to the Earth's surface. As a result, it was dark like falling twilight outside, and Scarlett's pale face glowed in the gloom.

Haru took a quick moment to reevaluate the girl. She was dressed provacatively: tight leather pants that hugged her generous curves and a form-fitting halter that accentuated her breasts, which were nothing to laugh at if taken out of context from their owner. She applied eye make-up with a heavy hand, drawing dark, smoky lines for a bedroom-eyes look. Her lips were painted a glossy shade of pink that matched her shirt. Her dark hair served only to emphasize her flawless white skin. She was obviously pretty, bordering on gorgeous.

However, none of that mattered to Haru. It didn't make her any more tolerable.

Scarlett wasted no time in closing the distance between their bodies. She was only slightly shorter than Haru, making her a relatively tall girl. She rested her palms flat on his chest and tilted her head up to look at him from less than an inch away. "Just what are you going to give me for my talk?" she murmured in a throaty voice that was an obvious attempt at sultry.

Haru gazed down at her coolly, easily resisting her charms. "My attention."

Scarlett rolled her eyes. "That's it?"

"I didn't ask to be here."

Scarlett slid her palms up his chest to rest on his clavicles. She knew of the Souma curse and was careful not to put her arms around him. "Mmm, but you are here now. And you can't get away, even if you want to, until I say so." She raised herself onto the balls of her feet so that their lips were almost touching. "What do you have to say about that?"

Haru's arms remained at his sides, and he remained unmoved by her blatant seduction. He shrugged apathetically.

The mouth near his twisted in a slight pout. "You're so annoying, Haru," she complained, pressing her lower body against his. He could feel the friction as the slick leather of her pants rubbed against the front of his rough denim jeans. One of her hands reached up to tangle in his thick hair. "What I have to say is very important. The least you can do is show some gratitude that I'm sharing it with you. Akito would kill me if he knew what I was about to say."

The mention of Akito killing her piqued Haru's interest. Now he actually slightly cared about what she had to say, but the majority of his instincts warned him that she was just lying to get him curious about what useless information she possessed. He stared into the dark eyes in front of his and said, "Tell me."

Scarlett smiled again, glad that her ploy had worked. "Not until you give me something. An even exchange, as it were." She moved closer until any further forward motion would have resulted in their lips meeting. "Is it a deal, Haru?"

Haru quickly thought about what he was getting himself into. "It depends. What do you want?" he asked steadily.

"Mmm, I want so many things," Scarlett said, toying with him. The hand that wasn't tangled in his hair slowly crawled towards his stomach. His skin tingled where her fingers stroked, like they were dipped in acid and leaving burning trails on him. In a quick motion, she had pulled his shirt up so that only the back was tucked into his pants. A sudden flash of uncertainty passed over her features. "You know how much I want you?"

"Good for you."

Scarlett's hand hesitated, gripping the hem of his shirt tightly before delving under and contacting the warm flesh of his abdomen. "Give me a kiss," she said quietly, urgently. "Kiss me."

Haru stood, unmoving. He met her furious gaze, and the exasperated look on her face showed that she understood.

_No._

He wouldn't make the first move, so she roughly tore aside the wall that separated them by forcing her lips against him angrily. Her hands abandoned the other areas of his body and cupped the sides of his face with restrained power, making it impossible for him to break away. This was her payment, and she was making sure he didn't short-change her.

She sucked at his mouth ravenously, and Haru remained an impassive observer of the event. She had her eyes shut tightly, and her entire body was trembling against his. He was a statue of stone.

Slayers could break those with their bare hands.

After what must have been several minutes, the girl pulled back, breathing hard. His lips were sore from the abuse they had undergone, and her own mouth was puffy and red. He lifted a hand to his mouth, wiping her gloss and saliva from his lips. He wanted to spit the bitter taste back into her mouth

"Haru," she said between heaving breaths. She sounded pained. "Why do you act like this?"

Haru was surprised to feel a twinge of black Haru inside, wanting to come out and play with the girl. Make her moan, make her scream. He put the urge away easily, having been in almost complete control of his alter ego for the past three years. After the hellmouth ordeal, when he had blacked out in front of the army of demons and awakened in bed at the main Souma house, Black Haru had turned from an unyielding screech to a pitiful whimper, easy to ignore and put away.

"Your information," he said, ignoring her question.

The pain left her eyes to be replaced with anger. "Damn you," she hissed. "You're such a bastard."

Haru gazed at her coolly. "You don't have to tell me. I don't care," he said honestly, turning and walking up the alley towards the front of the bar.

"Haru, dammit, wait," Scarlett called out. "I'll tell you, okay?"

Haru slowly faced her. "Okay."

Scarlett brushed at her clothes nervously. "Akito was telling me about that other Slayer, and her friend that came with her here. He said something about an ancient treasure, and that he was going to have them help him get it."

"So?" Haru asked.

Shrugging furiously, Scarlett continued, "I don't know! He said that it was written in one of those old Watcher's texts. About an item of legends that has the power to change reality."

"And?" Haru asked.

"Dammit, don't you understand? Why would Akito want it other than to bend the world to his will?"

"Why does this concern me?"

"Haru, I'm trying to help you out," Scarlett said, her voice taking on a note of desperation. Her cocky attitude was gone now, and she looked as vulnerable as he had ever seen her. She had been affected by their "kiss" deeply, changing her entire demeanor. "Just be careful. I don't want to see you get hurt."

Haru supposed he should be grateful for her concern, but all he wanted at the moment was to be back inside the bar with his friends, away from her. "Fine," he replied, turning his back to her once more and walking to the bar's entrance.

"Haru, wait!" she called again.

This time he chose to ignore her. She didn't follow him.

* * *

Hatori, Ayame, and Haru spent the rest of the time between two-thirty and eight o'clock drinking and talking. Actually, it was more a case of Ayame constantly asking Hatori and Haru questions and them answering. Hatori loosened up a bit as he downed more and more beers, but he still remained relatively quiet. Ayame got louder and more boisterous as the alcohol penetrated his system, and Haru got more withdrawn. His confrontation with Scarlett was already mostly forgotten, but something else was weighing on his mind. He couldn't put a finger on any specifics, but it left him feeling drained and down.

Someone turned on a radio, and a fast-paced rock song began to play, but it was nearly drowned out by the ever-loudening voices in the bar. Haru had never cared much for music anyway. Some were fooled by his looks into thinking that he was a rocker, but it wasn't the least bit true. Ayame, however, started bobbing and swaying to the music, knocking over his beer in the process and bowing as everyone in the bar began to cheer his performance.

"We'd better get going," Hatori said, looking down at his watch. "It's nearly eight."

"A shame. Whatever happened to the days when we would drink till midnight? The halcyon days of youth when we would dance on the bar like a malestrom of masculinity?" Ayame said, placing a hand to his head and tilting his head back as if in pain.

"Let's go," Hatori said shortly.

"I suppose," Ayame said regretfully, finishing the beer in his glass in a single swallow. He stood, maintaining his balance remarkably well for how much alcohol was raging in his blood. He made his way to the exit, waving goodbye to his fans. Hatori and Haru followed close behind him, walking out the door into the dark night.

Not a star to be seen in the sky. The moon was but a tiny dot of light in the infinite black. Haru stared straight ahead as they walked through the village.

"That was fun. We should do it again tomorrow," Ayame said, hiccuping as he sauntered down the path that led to the village entrance. "What do you say, Hari?"

Hatori wore one of his rare smiles. "Maybe it should be a weekly thing, Ayame."

Ayame nodded enthusiastically. "What about you, Haru?"

Haru shrugged. "I don't know."

"Oh, come on. You know you had fun," Ayame said, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "At least, when Scarlett was gone," he corrected quickly.

Haru nodded. He could agree 100 with that.

As they were exiting Hanabi village, they heard a soft cry of alarm to their left. They turned to see a small child cowering in fear from a looming Ha'kka demon. The Ha'kka demon was grinning at the little girl with razor sharp teeth, reaching for her with hands capped with long talons. It's wings furled and unfurled as it snorted and grunted, scenting its prey and savoring the moment before the kill.

"Mommy," the little girl cried softly, blinking rapidly as though caught in a nightmare.

Ayame, Haru, and Hatori watched the scene before them unfold. The girl was unaware of their presence, and in a few short seconds, she was unaware of anything except for her pain. The demon lunged at her and ripped into her flesh, licking its claws with an obscenely long, black tongue as the small child cried pitifully in between anguished screams.

Haru turned, continuing to walk away from the village. Hatori followed closely behind him, and after a few moments, Ayame hurried to catch up with them. Haru glanced quickly at his companion's faces. Hatori's was its usual blank slate, but Ayame wore lines of distress around his eyes and along his forehead. Haru was careful to keep his own face emotionless, but inside something stirred.

_There was nothing to say._

The girl cried and screamed for a long time. Whether her cries faded because she died or because they had walked too far away from her to hear them was unclear.

Ha'kka demons preferred to eat their victims alive.


	7. Beautiful Liar

**Disclaimer**: The characters are not mine, with the exception of the originals.

Gossamer Remembrance  
_By, Heather B. Kytes_  
**Chapter Summary:** _"What do I get out of it, huh, Buffy?" he asked snidely. "Do I get to die needlessly, too, or will I just be there to watch the guards cut you and Kyoko down?"_

**Chapter Seven**  
_Beautiful Liar_

Buffy walked with Tohru to the room she had spent the night in after having breakfast with Yuki. Shigure had been conspicuously absent from the breakfast table (as had Kyou, but Yuki said that was normal), so Buffy had asked where he usually spent his time in preparation for her quest to convince Shigure to drop the charges against Kyoko Honda. Yuki had informed her that Shigure spent most of his free time in a private study, as it was also where he got his writing done. The Slayer planned to go there after letting Tohru know everything that was going on.

Tohru smiled at Buffy and sat on the edge of her bed. "Everything is so nice here," she said cheerfully. "Don't you think so?"

Buffy shrugged, thinking that while the house was certainly a pleasant, if not extravagant, setting, the Soumas themselves weren't exactly the nicest bunch she had ever come across. "I guess so. Did you sleep well last night?"

Tohru laughed. "You already asked me that this morning. Yes, I slept fine. Did you?"

"Like a baby," Buffy admitted grudgingly. "That bed is damn comfy." She paused, trying to remember her train of thought. "I talked to Akito, like he wanted."

"What happened?" Tohru asked, watching Buffy intently.

"He gave me the run-around, teasing me with tiny bits of useful information in between the useless dramatics." Buffy shook her head ruefully. "I didn't get the feeling he was holding anything back, but with him, I couldn't tell one hundred percent."

Tohru looked thoughtful. "Maybe I should talk to him."

"No way," Buffy said quickly and firmly. "He doesn't exactly give off the 'I'm not insane' vibe."

"What?"

"He's a nutjob. Crazy," Buffy said in plainer terms. She tried to file away for future reference the fact that these people wouldn't necessarily be familiar with her way of talking. "I don't think you should be involved with someone like that."

"Involved?" Tohru asked. "No, I just thought I could talk to him. I was really close to the Akito in--"

"Not the same," Buffy said quickly, with sympathy in her voice. "This is the guy that Kyou swears sold his soul to the demons. He weirds me out, and believe me, the only things that weird me out are the ones that turn out to be not of the good."

Tohru looked unsure. "I know the Soumas are all different here," she said quietly. "The past three years have changed them. But they're the same, deep down. They have the same souls."

Buffy lifted her shoulders, giving Tohru a helpless look. "Can we say that for sure? All we DO know is that this isn't our reality. Not by a long shot. We're dead here, we shouldn't be here." Part of Buffy couldn't believe such words were coming from her lips, but she felt them to be true. "We can't say for sure what the nature of this reality is. We can't trust them."

By the look on her face, Buffy knew Tohru wasn't used to being suspicious of others' behavior. She was obviously a very trusting girl, and that was all good and well in a world where she had a family of big, strong men to watch her back. But here the rules were gone and Buffy had to stand alone. She had taken it upon herself to bear the burden of Tohru's well-being as well, because damn if the girl wasn't in the same boat as herself. The only difference was the girl's lack of experience and power, and Buffy wasn't yet sure how useful either of those would be to her survival here.

That was the goal now. To live through this and get home. A part of her still hoped the Scooby gang was finding a way to get her back, but another part of her worried about Tohru's fate if she got yanked away.

_They'll eat her alive._

She could always ask the gang to bring Tohru, too, but what if her world wasn't the same as Tohru's? It was a question that caused serious pounding of the cerebral lobes, so she ignored it. "Look, we just have to be careful."

Tohru was staring down at her hands. She didn't look sad, but she wasn't smiling anymore, either. "I just think the Soumas will help us out. They're letting us stay here, aren't they?"

"Yeah," Buffy said, feeling distracted. "I don't know why. Akito didn't say anything." Actually, the words Akito had spoken to her were blurred in her mind like the memory of a fading dream. The only vivid recollection was the slimy feel of his lips against the sensitive skin of her neck, his icy breath, and his warning.

_I said demons would not harm you, this is true. They are under my control. Humans are harder to control than demons, Miss Summers._

The only humans around were the Soumas.

"What are you thinking about?" Tohru asked Buffy, peering earnestly at the girl with large blue eyes. An ocean of innocence was poured into those orbs, and Buffy felt a pang of regret that her own would never hold the same blissful sparkle. She had seen too much in her short life, and she knew she would be seeing a lot more if enough time was afforded her.

_I'm still a Slayer,_ Buffy thought. _And that means I'm still going to die young and leave a pretty corpse._

Thinking about her inevitable death made her heart heavy as she remembered her lost mother. Her eyes drifted to the locket hanging around Tohru's neck. How Tohru managed to deal with her mother's death in such a dignified and mature manner baffled Buffy. She was still pissed at the world she had saved so much for taking her mother away from her and leaving her with nothing but responsibility, burdens, and duty. Her mother was gone, not even a part of the world anymore. Friends, even hers, whom she loved dearly, were expendable and couldn't always help her in the big battles. She had to stand alone then, and she wondered what was she fighting for.

On one hand, Buffy realized that she couldn't shy away from her Slayer duties, at least not back in Sunnydale where she was the only Slayer around. The world needed her, and there were innocent people depending on her for their lives. It was only occasionally that she would sink into her despair and think to herself, _Why the fuck should I care about any of this? I can protect myself, and that's enough._

Through the thick haze of her jumbled emotions, she remembered Tohru had asked her a question. "Not much," she replied. "I'm just thinking of the best way to approach Shigure about this."

"About what?" Tohru asked, and Buffy realized she hadn't told Tohru about Akito's proposition, or the fact that her "mother" was set to die the next day.

"Well," Buffy started slowly, unsure if she should tell Tohru at all. _We're in this together,_ she thought finally. _I have to be straight with her._ "Akito has set Hana and Kyoko's executions for tomorrow."

Tohru's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "W-what?"

"Tomorrow," Buffy repeated for emphasis. "He says their crimes were grievous and can't go unpunished."

Tohru was having trouble digesting the information, at least she seemed to be from the confused veil skimming over her eyes. "H-how could he say that?"

"Look, I already told you that Akito's a sadistic whack. He gave me the opportunity to help them out: if I can convince Yuki and Shigure to drop their charges, Hana and Kyoko are free to go."

"We have to help them!" Tohru exclaimed, fire igniting in her eyes and burning through the veil of shock. She jumped to her feet and reached out, grabbing Buffy's hand tightly. "I have to help you."

Buffy hesitated. A snide voice in her head remarked, _what can _she_ do? She's just a stupid girl._ Meeting the "stupid girl's" strong gaze, Buffy knew she was making the right decision when she said, "Okay, Tohru. What do you want to do?"

Tohru paused. "I had a nice talk with Yuki earlier. Maybe I can convince him."

Buffy nodded. "That might work out better, actually. I've barely said two words to the guy, so he might not warm up to my suggestions. Just be careful, okay, Tohru?"

"Okay," Tohru said. The smile was back on her face, but only because she obviously believed convincing Shigure and Yuki was going to be a piece of cake. "I'll have to ask one of the serving girls where Yuki is. Do you want to meet back up somewhere when we're done?"

"Yeah. Why not come back here when you're done, and I'll do the same. Just come back whether he says yes or no. We can think of something to do if either one of them declines."

"He won't say no," Tohru said brightly. "He seemed so nice. I'm sure I can convince him to let her go."

Buffy was unconvinced, but left her suspicions inside. "All right. Remember, Yuki's the one who got Hana put away, not Kyoko."

Tohru nodded swiftly. "I got it." She walked to the door and paused in the middle of the frame. "Buffy?"

"What?"

"Please help Kyoko," Tohru said, great feeling seeping into her subdued voice. "I would give a lot to see her again."

_She's not your mother, and they're not your Soumas._

"I will," Buffy replied surely. She spoke for Tohru's benefit only. "Count on it."

Tohru smiled gratefully and walked out into the hall.

Buffy steeled herself, mentally preparing a few remarks for Shigure. She wasn't placing too much emphasis on preparation, though. She knew the encounter would be mostly extemporaneous.

_It depends on how much of an ass he decides to be,_ Buffy thought.

Buffy hurried into the hall and practically sprinted to Shigure's office at the end. The door was closed, so she knocked.

Shigure's delayed reply was testy, "What is it? I'm busy."

She cleared her throat. "It's Buffy. I need to talk to you about something important."

She heard nothing for a few moments, then the door opened and Shigure peered out at her, rubbing at his tired eyes. "It can't wait?" he asked.

"Nope."

"Come in." Shigure stepped aside and Buffy walked through the door, whirling around as she heard it shut behind her. "Does the door need to be shut?" she asked curiously.

Shigure shrugged. "Does it need to be open?"

_Why am I nervous? He can't hurt me, even if he wants to._ Buffy placed her irrational anxiety aside and shrugged. "Whatever. Anyway, I'm going to get to the point. Akito told me you're the reason Kyoko Honda is incarcerated."

Shigure nodded. "I suppose there's some truth to be found in that statement."

"So you're going to play the flippant card? All right, I can deal with this," Buffy replied coolly, placing her hands on her hips. "First things first, would you mind telling me why you had the woman arrested and put to death? I've heard so much about this 'grievous' crime, I'm just dying to find out what it was."

Soft brown eyes watched her carefully. His lips curled in a wry smile that held every essence of charm he possessed in it. Buffy supposed any girl with a working pair of eyes would have been affected by such a face. He was a handsome devil, no doubt about it. However, Buffy maintained her emotional distance from him for two reasons. One, she had a friend on the line whose very life was depending on this conversation, and two, he was old, and that was kind of creepy.

"Miss Summers, it's a very grievous crime to be so beautiful. Did you know you're even hotter when you're pouting?" Shigure asked teasingly.

Buffy wrinkled her nose and twisted her mouth into a stern frown, making absolutely sure _not_ to pout. "Don't get all cute and sexy and flirty on me and expect it to work. You can put that stupid smile away."

Shigure's smile widened. "Why, Miss Summers, I had no idea you thought so highly of me. Cute? Sexy? I'm flattered."

Buffy's frown deepened as her anger boiled hot. "You can call me Buffy, thanks. See, I'm American. I don't give a flying fuck about your polite Japanese customs. I won't be talked down to."

Shigure showed no interest in matching Buffy's serious demeanor. He twirled a pencil on his desk as he draped himself over the edge of it. "I'm not talking down to you, Miss Summers. It would interest you to know that I view you as a very capable young woman." His eyes raked shamelessly over her body. "You'd be happy to know I think you look very much the part of a woman as well."

The urge to punch the man rising, Buffy refused to display any of her anger.Nonetheless, she was glad the clothes she was wearing (that the servants had given her that morning) didn't hug her figure or show it needlessly off. "Ha, ha. This isn't a time for jokes or sexual innuendo. Though I'm glad to offer you such amusement, I'm trying to save an innocent woman from a very painful--"

Shigure cut in before Buffy could finish. The mirth was wiped from his face and in its place was cool detachment. "Kyoko was a servant here. She worked for me. She refused an order. That simply isn't done."

"Kyoko, this sheet has a wrinkle in it! To the chair with you!" Buffy mocked. "God, what is wrong with you people? I would think that having faced hell on earth would make everyone realize how stupid all this tyrranical crap is. What happened to everyone being equal?"

"I don't question Akito," Shigure said calmly. He had switched his attention from the pencil to a crystal-looking paperweight. "He makes the rules, and we follow them."

"You expect me to buy this?" Buffy asked, raising an eyebrow at the man. "_You_, Shigure Souma, are the Lord of this land, you have got to make at least some of the rules."

The infuriating mouth opened and spewed forth a yawn. "The more unimportant rules, sure. You know, we Warlords have an obligation to supply the Coliseum games with 'players'. Or so the Lord Akito decrees. What can I say, Kyoko was the best candidate."

"So she didn't even DO anything?" Buffy exclaimed. The situation was getting more and more ridiculous. "What was all that crap about not following orders?"

"She was an insolent one, that Kyoko," Shigure recalled, almost fondly. "She talked back, didn't do anything unless she felt like it. I compared her to the rest of the staff, and she just fell short, I suppose. She deserved what she got."

"How can you say that someone deserves death? Are you God? It doesn't sound like she did anything to me except maybe stand up for her rights as a human being. Did you ever ask her if she wanted to be your servant?"

Shigure flashed an amused smile. "No. I'm sure she would have much preferred to be left out in the street and eaten by wild demons."

"She dead either way, isn't she?" Buffy said darkly. "Don't act like this is the only safe haven in the whole damn world. What about that village me and Tohru went to when we first got here? Those people are okay."

"Those people are governed by Akito. They're no better off than the servants here. Either way, they have to obey his orders." Shigure shrugged. "We're keeping them safe, using our own guards and resources. If we weren't looking out for them, they would be demon food."

"No," Buffy said firmly. "They have the Slayer."

"Scarlett?" Shigure choked out, laughing uproariously. "That girl doesn't give a fuck about them! She's on Akito's leash, just like anyone else. She only looks out for herself."

"No, not Scarlett," Buffy said, the humor and pleasantness completely wiped from her face. She looked at Shigure with the cold precision of a girl who knew how to kill and wouldn't hesitate if it needed to be done. "Me."

Shigure was courteous enough to pause for a moment, appraising the girl in front of him with curiousity. "You? What do you plan to do to salvage the demonic wasteland that is the country of Japan? All of the major cities have been leveled. All you will find is ramshackle villages poised on top of what were some of the most prosperous cities in the world. You could leave. You could probably find some way to the mainland of Asia, or to the Americas, since that's where you hail from. You won't find anything different in either place. The Hellmouths opened, and the demons came out. They destroyed every hallmark of human civilization they saw. It's a miracle in itself that Scarlett was called and found a way to close the Hellmouths. This is the aftermath of the apocalyse, Miss Summers. Humanity has been set back to the time before civilization even existed. We don't need a Slayer. We need a miracle."

Buffy was silent, taking in the information she had been given. It was a lot to think about. It almost made her forget the reason she was standing there in Shigure's office, but not quite. "This is interesting, I suppose. That doesn't change the fact that I'm not going to let Kyoko Honda die."

Shigure's face darkened. "You can't stop it," he said flatly.

"I can. I will. I tried doing it the nice way and asking politely, but you wouldn't have it. So now we're going to do things the Buffy way." She flashed a fake smile, stretching her lips wide. "Thanks for your time. It's been real."

Shigure was up and intercepted Buffy as she turned to make her exit. "If you think you can get this accomplished by force, you're wrong," he said.

Buffy placed her hand on the man's shoulder, and squeezed hard, holding back on her strength so she wouldn't injure him. She flexed her fingers and shoved him aside with all the might she could muster. Shigure stumbled sideways over a pile of cardboard boxes and landed with a loud thump to the carpeted floor. He lay in agony, clutching at his left side which had taken the brunt of the force from the fall. He looked like he wasn't used to pain. Buffy gave him a last emotionless stare before speaking.

"You're wrong."

She raced out of the room and down the hall.

She didn't have a lot of time left.

Grunting in anguish, Shigure pulled himself into a sitting position. He surely wasn't used to pain, and his left hip and elbow felt like cement blocks had slammed into them. His right side was mostly unscathed, however, and he reached into the pocket of his trousers and pulled out a cellular phone. A small smile crept over his face as he speed dialed the first number in his digital phone book.

"It's me," he said when the other end picked up. "Yes, it's done. There's nothing to save."

* * *

"Miss Honda, what a nice surprise," Yuki said, smiling warmly at the girl who stood in the doorway of his room. He stepped aside and let her walk past him. "Did you come to talk about your home some more?"

Tohru giggled nervously, making her way into the spacious room. The walls were painted a powder blue color, matching the rest of the blue-themed room, from the royal blue curtains to the midnight blue bedspread. The furniture was sparse; only the essentials of a bed, a dresser, and a desk appeared to be present.

Tohru moved over to the chair next to the desk and said quickly, "No, not about that. May I sit down?"

"Of course," Yuki said pleasantly. "You don't have to relegate yourself to the chair. You're welcome to sit with me on the bed."

"Okay," Tohru said, sitting on the edge of Yuki's downy-soft bed. She smiled at the boy at he took a seat next to her.

"Now what did you need to talk about, Miss Honda?" Yuki asked softly.

"Well, it's about Hana," Tohru began hesitantly, "Hana Sakejime. You... remember her?"

"Yes." Yuki nodded. "She worked here."

Tohru shook her head. "The one that was in the Coliseum yesterday. Well, um..."

Yuki was watching her intently. He nodded slightly. "You know I'm the one who got her put in jail," he said firmly.

Tohru was surprised. "Yes, actually, I do. Buffy told me."

"Buffy? How does she know?" Yuki wondered.

"She talked with Akito this morning," Tohru replied. "He told her that he would release Hana and Ma -- Kyoko Honda if we could get the people who pressed charges against them to drop the charges." She felt sheepish and ducked her head. "I -- I don't know what the crime Hana committed was, but..."

Yuki raised his hand in the air, stopping Tohru's apologetic tirade. "You don't have to feel sorry, Tohru. I appreciate you coming here to talk to me."

"Really?"

Smiling brightly, Yuki nodded. Tohru noticed that his movements were just as graceful as the Yuki she knew when he got to his feet and walked to the dresser beside what must have been the closet. He lifted an arm and placed his thin hand on the receiver of a phone that rested there. He paused in his actions and looked back at Tohru. "Yes, Miss Honda, I'm glad. I've been feeling guilty about Hana ever since her arrest three weeks ago."

Tohru felt great relief flood over her. "Really?"

"Yes. I was having a bad day, and when she refused my order, I'm sorry to say I snapped. I never intended for her to be used in the Coliseum games." Yuki's eyes darkened with regret. "That's Akito's way."

Tohru felt such happiness at Yuki's remorse that she barely listened to what he was saying. She was basking in the afterglow at the thought that her best friend would be free. "Thank you so much," she gushed. "I don't know how I can repay you for this."

Yuki abandoned the phone and moved to Tohru, taking her hand in his and bringing it to his lips. "I thank you, Miss Honda. Your concern for Hana lifts my heart. If not for you coming here, I may not have had the courage to do anything about this mistake."

Tohru looked up at Yuki, and for a moment it was like she was back home. The way he looked at her felt so familiar, so warm, she felt tears fill her eyes and threaten to spill forth.

Upon seeing her watery eyes, Yuki was quick to drop her hand and step back. "Miss Honda, is something the matter?"

"I'm happy," Tohru said, wiping at her cheeks as the tears slid down. "Really, this means so much to me."

Yuki reached into the pocket of his well-pressed shirt and pulled out a purple handkerchief. "Dry your eyes, Miss Honda. Your tears of joy look too much like tears of sorrow to me. I cannot stand to see them on your face."

Tohru smiled and used the handkerchief to wipe her face clean of tears. Yuki returned to the phone and picked it up, dialing quickly and turning his back to Tohru. "Yes," he said after a moment. "This is Yuki Souma with an order for the Coliseum guards. They are to release Hana Sakejime and Kyoko Honda immediately and send them to Hanabi Village, where they are to seek temporary shelter in the Inn there, in the reserved room."

There was a long pause, and Yuki's impeccable posture faltered, his back hunching slightly. "I see," he said finally.

He hung up the phone.

When he turned around, his face was mysteriously blank. Tohru went to speak, but he beat her to the punch, his words escaping his lips in hushed tones.

It took a moment for the information to absorb into Tohru's mind. She was left staring at Yuki, her mouth dropping open.

Tohru's grip faltered on the handkerchief, and it fell to the floor.

* * *

There was no time to meet Tohru in the room and tell her that Shigure had refused to drop the charges against Kyoko. He knew Buffy was going to try to break her out, and he was certainly going to warn Akito as soon as he could get up from the floor. She cursed herself for giving away her plans, but in the heat of the moment, her anger at Shigure's refusal had come pouring out. Now she was in a race against the clock, and she knew she was going to have to hurt a lot of people to get what she wanted.

Buffy was lost in frantic thoughts, racing down the final hallway towards the staircase when she ran into Kyou.

"Dammit!" Kyou shouted, bracing himself against the wall in order to stay upright. When he saw who had smacked him, he rolled his eyes. "I should have known. Why are you always smacking into me?"

"Why are you always in my way?" she exclaimed, glowering at the boy as he blocked the entire hallway with his arm. "Do you mind?"

"Where the hell are you going to, anyway?" Kyou asked, drawing his eyebrows down in a scowl. "Why the hell are you running like that?"

Buffy took a deep breath to calm herself, but it didn't work. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute, and her adrenaline was pumping overtime. "Just move!" she said. "I have to go."

Kyou rolled his eyes and removed his arm from the wall. "Don't trip on the stairs again, you crazy bitch," he said snidely, glancing as she whizzed right by him.

She was halfway down the stairs when a realization hit her. _Kyou can help me._

Buffy had been daydreaming yesterday when she had ridden with Shigure and Hatori to the house in their car (which had been driven by a chauffer), so she couldn't remember exactly where the Coliseum was. She smacked herself lightly in the forehead and turned to race back up the stairs. She had to catch Kyou before he disappeared into a room. She did not have time to check the twenty or so rooms on the third floor.

Buffy turned the corner in the hallway, hoping to see the orange-haired boy's back. She caught a glimpse of a door shutting, and she ran to it, pulling it open and peering inside frantically.

Kyou whirled around, looking at the intruder with a sour face. "What do you want now?" he spat.

"I need your help," Buffy said breathlessly, trying to gather her thoughts into coherent sentences. Her mind was still all over the place, and an invisible weight was pressing down at the center of her being. She felt like she was being held down by something, but she didn't know what it was.

Kyou rolled his eyes. "No, thanks," he said. "What's your problem? You look like hell."

"Look, I need you to tell me how to get to the Coliseum," Buffy said in a rush. "If I don't get there fast, someone is going to die."

Kyou looked bored. "So what else is new? People are always dying there."

"And you condone this?" Buffy said, her anger rising to the surface again. "Are you Soumas all sadistic freaks or what? I mean, what is the deal with this place?"

"Akito," Kyou answered simply. "You talked to the guy, right? You know what he's like."

Buffy paused. "How would you know I talked to him?" she snapped.

It was Kyou's turn to hesitate. "I saw you leaving his office this morning," he said.

"What, you were _spying_ on me?" Buffy exclaimed.

"No. I was on the roof and looking around," Kyou replied sharply. "Why the hell would I spy on you?"

"I don't know! Why the hell would you sit back and let an innocent woman die? Who knows what any of you are thinking!" Buffy yelled. "I need your help, Kyou, or Kyoko Honda is going to die tomorrow."

"Oh," Kyou said, sitting back down on the bed behind him. Buffy had been so focused on her own emotions, she hadn't realized she was probably inside Kyou's bedroom. It was nice, painted in sunset shades of yellow, red, and orange. There was little more than the bed and a dresser for furnishings, but the colors gave it an odd sort of appeal, at least when compared to the bland gray of the guest bedrooms.

"Look, Buffy," Kyou said. "Forget about Kyoko. She was as good as dead three weeks ago. She knows it. She's probably come to accept it."

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked, feeling a lump rising in her throat. She swallowed thickly. "I talked to Shigure. He said she didn't do anything. She was just randomly picked for those stupid Coliseum games."

Kyou cast his gaze downward and tilted his head. Orange bangs tumbled into his face, rendering Buffy unable to see anything but shadows. "It wasn't random," he muttered.

Buffy could accept that Shigure had lied to her. He had never had an obligation to tell her the truth. Yet something puzzled her about Kyou's assertion. He knew something she didn't. "Why?" Buffy asked. "Why was Kyoko picked?"

Kyou paused again before answering. "She disobeyed an order."

Letting out an annoyed grunt, Buffy said, "Yeah, Shigure said something like she was reluctant to follow orders. But I don't get why that earns her death. He could have just sent her out of the house, right? To one of those villages?"

"That's not how it works," Kyou said stiffly.

"Your system sucks," Buffy said bluntly. "I've wasted too much time here. Will you help me get to the Coliseum or not?"

Kyou didn't answer her. He remained hunched over, hidden by his mass of carrot-colored hair.

"Fine," Buffy said, feeling disappointed. She would have to ask someone else to tell her where the Coliseum was located. She turned around and made her way into the hall, no longer running but keeping a quick pace to her footsteps.

Buffy was stopped when someone grabbed her arm roughly and whirled her around. She found Kyou looking at her with wide, curiously blank eyes. His grip on her arm was rough, almost to the point of painful, and they must have stood in silence for ten seconds before she broke it with a curt, "What?"

"Don't," Kyou said, his voice as empty as his expression. "Don't try to help Kyoko. You can't."

Buffy wrenched her arm free and rubbed at the sore spot. "I'm not going to sit by while she's killed for... _nothing_. Don't you get how ridiculous this entire thing is? I have to help her. Tohru asked me to."

Kyou's face twisted in an odd expression of disgust. "The girl you met a few days ago, right? What is she to you, really? I mean, why do you care enough to risk your stupid life just so that ghost can have her fake mother back?"

Buffy pushed Kyou hard in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards and grapple at the wall for support. "I care because I have to! That's what a Slayer does. Maybe it seems stupid to you and your evil family, but I use my strength to help out people who can't do it themselves. That's what my strength was given to me for. It sucks, and it's hard, and yeah, I guess I could die. I don't care. I have to try."

Kyou's head hung as he leaned against the wall for support. He was breathing hard, and she could see he was trembling slightly. "You will die," he said quietly.

Unsure of how to respond to Kyou's statement, Buffy lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "You don't know that," she replied. "You don't know what I'm capable of."

"I know Akito. I know what _he's_ capable of," Kyou replied. "If you rescue Kyoko, and you go on the run, hide her somewhere, he'll find you. He'll kill you, both of you. It's foolish."

The earlier weight on Buffy's center returned, and she recognized it to be hopelessness. She met Kyou's stare and felt a crushing sense of loss slam into her gut. "No," she said. It came out feeble. She shook her head slightly. "No, I promised."

Kyou looked frozen in place. When he didn't speak, Buffy asked quietly, "Will you help me, Kyou?"

After a moment of silence, Buffy figured she had once again blown it, but Kyou spoke. He lifted his head so that she could see the angry light in his eyes. "What do I get out of it, huh, Buffy?" he asked snidely. "Do I get to die needlessly, too, or will I just be there to watch the guards cut you and Kyoko down? They won't hesitate, you know. They have their orders not to let prisoners escape at any cost. Are you fast enough to outrun bullets, because I can guarantee Kyoko isn't."

Precious seconds flew by, and Buffy waged an internal war with herself, wondering if there was any point in trying to convince Kyou that her goal was worthwhile. To see that she couldn't turn her back on this. She glowered at him, fed up with his stubborn attitude. "I get that there's a death risk involved, Kyou. I'm not that stupid, despite what my blonde hair tends to indicate. I'm not asking you to come with me and put your life on the line. I'm asking you to give me _directions_. It's not exactly leaping into the fray of a sword fight, now is it? I don't think the words will grab little knives and attack you."

"Excuse me if I feel a bit reluctant to give you _directions_ to certain death," Kyou said sourly.

"Quit talking to me like I'm some helpless girl throwing herself against an army of millions. I'm a Slayer. I have the strength of demons. I think I can handle a few guards," Buffy said crossly.

"No, don't you get it? You can't handle them! You think Akito would just leave a few hapless idiots to guard the prisoners? They're guarded by hundreds of human and demon guards, each having his own array of weapons. Guns, swords, claws, teeth. You'll die, you'll fucking die. That's what you're running to."

"No, I'm--"

"So you go there, foolishly thinking you can win against the odds and save Kyoko. And you die, because there's no fucking doubt about that happening. Think about what that means for Tohru. Sure, she wants you to save her mother, ya know, that worthless cunt who happens to look like her, but she wants you to be here for her even more than that. She needs you to protect her, and shit, she wants you here because she likes you. She wants _you_ to be okay. If she was here, she'd tell you that," Kyou continued.

"Do you hear yourself?" Buffy exclaimed, her anger exploding in an instant. "You go on about how Kyoko isn't the same mother that Tohru knows, when here you are talking about Tohru like you know her! I don't have time to stand here and argue with a hypocrite." Buffy turned on her heel and stalked away.

Her arm was grabbed again, but she was ready for it. She shoved Kyou away from her, and this time he fell to the floor, cursing as he landed roughly on his rear. "I'll get someone else's help, thanks," she said harshly. "You've been a complete waste of my time. I shouldn't have expected any more than that from a Souma."

Kyou wasn't done with her. He got to his feet surprisingly quickly and blocked the punch she threw at him, pushing her back against the wall and leaning over her almost menacingly. "Why can't you understand? You can't save Kyoko! She might as well be dead. All you're going to do is earn yourself a spot next to her in the ground!"

"You're in my way," Buffy said icily, avoiding his stare by averting her eyes to the side. "So move."

Kyou didn't budge, so Buffy lifted her eyes and finally met his gaze. He was watching her with indescribable feeling, like he was struggling to think of how to put his emotions into words. Not having time for his dramatics, Buffy repeated herself. "Move."

"Okay," Kyou said finally, the fire extinguished from his voice. He looked defeated as he stepped back, setting her free. "Fine. Okay."

"Okay," Buffy echoed dully, turning away from him to head down the stairs.

Before she reached them, she was stopped by Tohru, who ascended the staircase just as Buffy had taken a few steps away from Kyou. "Buffy," the girl said, standing in front of her. Her lovely face was streaked with fresh and stale tears.

"Tohru, what's wrong?" Buffy asked.

Tohru wiped at her eyes with a violet handkerchief. She went to speak, but fresh tears poured out of her eyes.

"Tohru?" Buffy repeated, moving towards the girl.

Yuki blocked Buffy's progress. "It's Hana and Kyoko," he responded softly.

"What?"

"They're dead," Yuki said.

"What? No. Their execution was set for tomorrow," Buffy said, feeling panicked.

"It was," Yuki agreed, watching the Slayer carefully. "They attempted to escape, and the guards cut them down."

Buffy felt like all the life drained from her then. She could barely find the energy to speak, but somehow she managed it. "Why?"

Yuki's eyes softened. He was almost six inches taller than Buffy, so he had to tilt his head down to meet her gaze, as they were standing only a foot apart. He lifted his hand up briefly to touch the side of Buffy's face, his fingers startlingly cool against her hot cheek. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I gave my consent for Hana to be released, and I called the guards to tell them to let her go. That is when they informed me of what had happened."

Tohru moved past Yuki and leaned against Buffy in a hug. She was still crying quietly, as Buffy could feel the salty tears soaking through the thin material of her shirt. "We tried," the girl whispered. "We did what we could."

Buffy felt sick to her stomach. She craned her head back to look at Kyou, wondering what his reaction was to this news.

He was gone.


	8. Monster

**Disclaimer**: The characters are not mine, with the exception of the originals.  
**Notes:** Random, but I listened to X-Japan -constantly- while writing this chapter, especially the Buffy scene. "Amethyst" is a particularly gorgeous piece. Plus side -- no lyrics!

Thanks for reading and leaving me reviews to let me know what you think. I _really_ appreciate it.

Gossamer Remembrance  
_By, Heather B. Kytes_  
**Chapter Summary:** _"I just don't see how one girl can be that important. How can one person hold the weight of the world on their shoulders and not break?"_

**Chapter Eight**  
_Monster_

_Tohru gripped her mother's frail hand tightly in her own, staring at her mother with mysteriously dry eyes. "Mom," she said in a voice clear with resolve, "you're going to be okay."_

_Kyoko Honda lay motionless, a ventilator breathing for her. She was still unconscious and had been ever since the car accident the previous day. Her car had been plowed into by a drunk driver as she drove home from a late night at work. Though she had been wearing a seatbelt, and her head had not struck the windshield, the brain damage caused by the severe whiplash rendered her comatose, and the doctor was pessimistic as to her recovery. "Her axons, nerves, were badly damaged," he had said. "I know it's hard to believe, but this is a serious injury. If she wakes up, the repurcussions from the incident are going to be life-altering. As it is, I don't see her walking away from this. I'm sorry."_

_It could have been worse. The drunk driver had not been wearing a seatbelt, and his entire body had been crushed along with his car. The police were working on finding out the man's information to contact his family with the news, and they were checking up on Tohru with details of their investigation. Tohru found herself watching their lips as they spoke, but their words flew past her ears unheard. She was unable to concentrate on anything except her prayers to God for the wellbeing of her mother._

_Now it was dawn, the second morning after Kyoko's admittance into the hospital. After all the various tests to diagnose Kyoko's injury, they had moved her to a private room, where Tohru had been staying constantly at her mother's bedside. The nurses were kind and brought Tohru food and drink from the cafeteria, but Tohru found that she vomited anything she placed in her stomach._

_So she sipped water when her throat was dry, knelt next to her mother, and prayed._

_Tohru had yet to shed a tear for the situation. She saw no need for tears when it was only going to be a matter of time before her mother awoke and smiled at her, letting her know everything would be okay. She didn't want her mother to wake up to see her crying, because then she would be upset that she had made her daughter sad. Tohru wanted her mother to focus on getting better, not making her feel better._

_So she prayed._

_The warmth radiating from the hand clenched in her own was fading to an eerie coldness. The soft beeps of the heart monitor, the hiss of the ventilator, and Tohru's own deep breaths were the only sounds that touched Tohru's ears, but she thought she heard something else._

_"Tohru."_

_Tohru lifted her head from its bowed position and stared at her mother's face. She remained still and unconscious. With the mask covering her mouth and nose, it was doubtful Kyoko had spoken her name._

_But she swore she heard something._

_The sunlight began to creep in through the window, spilling onto the very edge of Kyoko's neatly made bed._

_Hospital corners._

_Kyoko's slight frame barely made a bump in the smooth sheets. Tohru had inherited her tiny bone structure and sensible eating habits from her mother, so they both were thin, too thin, some people liked to say. That was just people talking._

_Tohru stopped in mid-prayer, looking at her mother's ghastly pale face with wide eyes._

_The hand in hers grew colder, until it felt like ice._

_The heart monitor beeped once more and went still._

_The ventilator continued to push air into Kyoko's inactive lungs._

_The sunlight inched its way over the crisp white sheets._

_Tohru felt like time stopped for several seconds. Her own heart skipped beats as she stared at the calm expression on her mother's face, the delicate lines of beauty and age etched firmly in the alabaster skin._

_Tohru stood and leaned over the edge of the bed, resting her palms firmly on her mother's shoulders. She shook the woman gently, being careful as she knew Kyoko's injuries had been a result of severe 'shaking' in the first place. "Mom?" she said questioningly. "Mom?"_

_The shrill monotone on the heart monitor began to sear its way through Tohru's inner paralysis, and panic replaced the quiet shock. "Mom? Mom?"_

_Tohru back away, bumping into the hard plastic chair against the wall. She whirled around and managed to find the door, stepping out and calling out to the people milling around in the hallway, "Help! My mom needs help!"_

_A woman who had been walking past stopped to look at Tohru. "Ring the nurse, dear. There's a button by the door that pages the nurse."_

_"No, you don't-- my mom needs help," Tohru said haltingly, grasping for words. "She--" Tohru whirled her head around, looking for anyone that looked like hospital personnel. The hallway blurred and ran together in her vision, and she realized tears had started to spill out of her eyes. "No." She brushed angrily at the errant drops and moved forward, oblivious to the movements of the woman to her left, who was moving past Tohru to go into Kyoko's room and press the call button._

_Tohru held onto the wall for support as more tears came to her eyes and overflowed down onto her cheeks. She wiped them away with her palm and squinted, trying to see if a nurse of a doctor was nearby. "Someone," she said, her voice coming out quiet and weak. "My mom--"_

_"I called the nurse, dear," the woman said, placing a comforting hand on Tohru's shoulder. "I'm very sorry about your mother."_

_"Sorry?" Tohru stared at the woman without really seeing her. She looked through the woman as she held out a package of kleenex to the girl._

_"Please, take this," the woman said._

_Tohru reached out woodenly to take the package. She squeezed it in her palm as her arm returned limply to her side._

_The woman left._

_Tohru watched her retreating form through watery eyes. She lifted the hand that held the kleenex up and stared at it._

_She walked back into the hospital room and stopped at her mother's side._

_"Wake up, Mom," Tohru said quietly. "The sun's already up."_

_When her words got no response, Tohru reached out to take her mother's hand again._

_The package of tissues fell to the floor as Tohru unclenched her fist._

_"Excuse me." Tohru recognized the doctor as he moved past her and bent over Kyoko. He removed the ventilator from her mouth and pressed his stethoscope to her chest, near her heart. After a few moments he took the ends of the stethoscope from his ears and bowed his head._

_The doctor backed up, turning around to meet Tohru's wondering gaze with a grave expression. "Miss Honda, I'm sorry."_

_"Miss Honda is my mom," Tohru said quietly. "I'm Tohru."_

_"Tohru," the doctor said, his face remaining sympathetic, "your mother had passed away."_

_"No," Tohru said, the response automatic. "She was fine a few seconds ago."_

_The doctor was knowing. He had expected this reaction. "Tohru, the damage your mother sustained in the car accident was severe. It was very improbable she would have woken up from her coma, and if she had, she would most likely have been brain dead. In some way, this was probably for the best."_

_Tohru stared up at the doctor. His face blurred, and she was crying again. "Mom--?"_

_"She's dead, Tohru," the doctor said. He paused for a few moments and continued. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to wait in the hall for a few minutes while we take care of the body."_

_Tohru nodded automatically and walked out of the room as a few nurses walked in to assist the doctor. She moved to the far wall and leaned her body against it, the tears pouring out of her eyes even as her mind rejected their reason._

_"You're going to be okay, mom," she whispered, leaning limply against the wall as she closed her eyes tightly to stop the flow of tears._

_Her breathing accelerated, and like a fire poker had been jammed into her gut, a loud sob escaped her body. After that, the tears and sobs came out in painful gasps. The force of her hysterical sobs forced her to fall, crouching, to the floor. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself as the the grief racked her body, even as a part of her mind refused to wrap around what had just happened. "You're going to be okay," she choked out between heaving gasps and desperate inhalations for air. "You'll be okay."_

Tohru lay curled on her side on the guest bed as the memories flooded her mind. She tried to reconcile her feelings from the past with her current grief over the death of Kyoko and Hana, but the events refused to disconnect in her mind. She felt like it was happening all over again.

After telling Buffy the news, the Slayer had insisted that they leave the Souma residence. There was no point in staying near a bunch of murderers and expecting to be safe, she said. Yuki had insisted that the family had the girls' best interests at heart, but Buffy wasn't having any of it. She had dragged Tohru halfway down the stairs before Tohru put a hand on her arm.

"I don't want to leave here," she had said quietly.

Buffy had been puzzled by the girl's admission. "What? Why? This place is death's whore house."

Tohru hadn't smiled at Buffy's flippant remark. "The Soumas are my family," she said. "They may not be the same as they were in our world, but they're still... they're still my family. I can't leave them."

Buffy pursed her lips. "Look, maybe it's best if neither of us rush into decisions at a time like this. We should both cool off. Maybe you should go to your room and rest up until dinner."

It must have been several hours before dinner was to be served. Tohru, however, had been feeling drained, so she had agreed to Buffy's plan.

Now here she was.

Every time she closed her eyes to sleep, she saw her mother's lifeless body.

She grabbed her locket in her hands and waited for the rush of comfort to come, like it always did when she was feeling scared and lonely and turned to her mother for consolation.

She felt nothing.

* * *

Buffy Summers, the Slayer, wandered for a long time.

As the seconds, minutes, and hours passed without notice, it was hard to say whether she stayed in reality or drifted in sweet unconsciousness. Her feet drove her forward, across the dusty ground towards the nothing that awaited her, but Buffy's state of mind remained uncertain. Her eyes took in the dusky scenery in front of her, but she couldn't say she remembered what she saw afterwards. She was almost certainly getting lost, but the fact didn't bother her so much. There was nothing to be lost from.

But maybe Tohru.

_I can't protect her, anyway. I can't protect anyone._

As the Slayer, Buffy was used to having to fight to save lives. Even though she knew it was impossible to save everyone all the time, she had at least made a promise to herself that she would always protect those close to her. Casualties were inevitable in her line of work, but she would never allow a comrade to fall while she was still standing. As long as she had breath, her friends would live.

What good was being a Slayer if she couldn't save them?

The world around her was wheezing its own last breaths. The dim haze that seemed forever blanketing the landscape around her was thick with the last fragments of hope and life the planet had to offer. The barren land her feet tread upon seemed faintly alive, resulting in a few random patches of dry brown grass and blossoming flowers struggling to erect their colored petals into a bleak existence. Buffy couldn't profess to being in tune with the Earth's spirit or any of that enlightened guru mumbo-jumbo, but even she could see it.

Mother Earth had been raped.

_Can this really be Earth?_

She had to wonder.

As she moved without purpose, Buffy didn't notice when the sun began to sink in the sky and the already dark Earth grew darker around her. She was back in that space where her mind was on autopilot and time had no meaning for her. Soon she was enveloped in a starless midnight blue, and the only light she had to guide her were the frail beams of a waning moon.

She stepped out of her dreamy haze and looked at the land before her, blinking a few times to allow her eyes to adjust to the darkness.

She had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there.

_Shit, I wasn't paying attention. What the hell have I been doing?_ Buffy thought, a tiny sliver of panic working its way into her throat. She swallowed thickly and hurried forward in the opposite direction than the one she had been facing, hoping to see Shigure's manor in the far distance. Instead the view was the same as it had been in front of her.

Barren.

Buffy grasped Mr. Pointy in her hand, drawing the stake out from the pocket of her cargo pants. Not the best weapon in the world if she by chance ran into a demon, but it was better than nothing but her bare hands and sneaker-covered feet. Yet it was darker out here than she was used to back in Sunnydale. At least there was the occasional street light beacon overhead to light her way as she fought demons and vampires. Here there was scarcely enough moonshine to see a foot in front of her. She would essentially be fighting blind.

She began to walk, taking long, purposeful strides. She hadn't deviated from a straight line in her course, she was almost certain, so if she walked long enough, she should run into the manor.

The moon appeared to be flickering into the cloudless, dusty sky. She glanced up at it, surprised to find that it had darkened to a pale shadow of what it had been. It was a phenomenon that should have been impossible. The moon shone only with reflected light of the sun, so if the moon was growing darker, that meant the sun was...

As much as it surprised Buffy when the moon began to flicker out, it was nothing compared to her utter shock when it disappeared completely.

Darkness immediately closed its distance around her, leaving her without sight as her eyes struggled against the stark change in light. Buffy's panic transformed from a small lump to a complete blockage, and she could feel herself struggling to bring air into her lungs. She fell to her knees to the hard ground and covered her face, her chest heaving as she starved for air. For endless moments, the only sounds filling the still night air were her own muffled gasps, but that changed, gradually, when her ears began to notice the subtle vocalizations around her.

Whispers.

Grunts.

Growls.

_Demons._

Immediately, she knew she was surrounded by them. Noises were coming at her from every possible direction, melding together into a low hiss that slowly elevated into a collective promise of painful death. She was frozen in her place huddled on the ground, even as she knew she should be standing and preparing for the futile fight. A victorious Slayer versus an army of demons was a long shot in broad daylight, in total darkness, it was an impossibility.

_So these are my last moments on Earth..._

Her breath finally caught, and Buffy was able to inhale sweet air into her lungs normally again. She was surprised at the sudden calm that came over her, but then again, she had resigned herself to death. She had known the end would come in pain and battle, so this was it. She was ready.

Buffy Summers pushed herself up off the ground and clenched her fists in front of her, preparing for battle.

She had dropped Mr. Pointy, but it was a mere consequence. The stake would be of no use to her now.

Foul breath that stank of a thousand wasted lives washed over her neck as one of the demons moved in too close to her. She moved quicker than lightning to take ahold of its neck and twist, using her full strength to rip the cords, ligaments, and joints holding the fragile column of bones together. Her mind was curiously empty as she made to accomplish the simple task, but her thoughts returned, _confusion_, when her flexing hands found nothing but dead air.

She was alone.

Not for too long.

In front of her, it was daylight. It wasn't the daylight she had embarked into out of Shigure's house, but the daylight of her home world, with bright, unyielding, glaring sunrays illuminating the sights around her.

The world of green.

The ground at her feet was no longer bare and dead. It was blooming with lush emerald-colored grass and bright patches of blue and yellow flowers. Buffy looked down at the brillant colors in awe, her mind struggling to catch up and rationalize what she was seeing. When it finally did, her thoughts were grimly hopeful.

_I'm dead. This is heaven._

"I can't believe this is going to happen," a voice murmured to her far right. Buffy looked up to see a girl of about eighteen with light caramel-colored hair and large eyes looking at her. No, not at her, but in her general direction. In between Buffy and the girl stood another. It appeared to be a boy, but Buffy couldn't be sure as all she had to base her assumption on was the back view of the person.

_Where did they come from?_

Even more odd than the fact that the people had appeared out of nowhere beside her was the fact that there appeared to be glowing yellow lights floating delicately over both of them, outlining their forms like a misty aura. Even in the harsh sunlight, the dimly colored lights stood out starkly around their forms, impossible to miss.

_Angels?_

"Uh, yeah, excuse me for interrupting, but--" Buffy began, stopping in mid-plea when the girl continued to speak to her companion, ignoring the Slayer's existence.

"This could be the end of the world."

"Yeah, end of the world, definite bad," Buffy said, nodding emphatically. "You can tell me all about it, promise, if you'll just answer a few simple questions I'm having."

"Deja vu fucking sucks," the companion replied, answering one of Buffy's unasked questions inadvertantly. The tone and pitch of the voice confirmed the fact that it was a boy and not one of the fairer sex. Buffy was slowly moving towards the two, stopping once she was a comfortable distance from them but still close enough to be noticeable.

Or so she would have thought.

"This is a little different, though, isn't it? You know what's going to happen this time," the girl said, smiling at the boy. Buffy took the time to more closely examine the girl's face. She was extremely pretty, her features fair and complemetary. Her skin was a darker shade of tan, going nicely with her light hair and bright eyes. Overall, she seemed like the perky cheerleader type.

The boy, on the other hand, reminded her strongly of someone she knew.

Someone she had just met.

She blinked, and the view didn't change. He was right there in front of her.

Kyou.

But not exactly.

"Yeah, I know what's going to happen," the boy said in a softer voice than Buffy suspected Kyou knew how to use. "We're going to die."

"Hello?" Buffy exclaimed, tired of being ignored. She jumped forward and waved her arms in between the two. "Person in distress here. Recently deceased, probably. I know you can see me!"

When she was still shunned, a horrifying realization hit her.

_Oh my God, they can't see me. I'm a ghost!_

To prove the point, she moved forward to touch the Kyou-clone's arm. Her heart thumped in her chest as her hand went through him like he was nothing but beams of light shot through a movie projector. He looked real, but he wasn't, not to her.

He was a phantom.

Or was she?

Buffy couldn't answer that question, not with what proof she had been given. All she knew for sure was that her heart was still beating, her lungs were pumping, and she had substance to herself. She could touch her own skin and feel the slight pressure as she pressed down.

In the midst of her own confusion, she hadn't noticed that a light rain was falling down around her. The drops of water never touched her. Instead they simply vanished when in her proximity as though they had never been there at all.

The girl and her companion also remained unaffected by the wetness, though it seemed their yellow barriers were preventing the rain from getting to them.

She had missed more of the words exchanged between the two, not that she was understanding them, anyway. The context of everything was lost to her. End of the world? Sure didn't look like that was happening any time soon, not there in that lush world where Mother Nature dressed herself in opulence.

"Isn't that what Slayers are always fighting against, anyway?" Buffy studied the boy's face, still amazed at how similar his features were to Kyou's. She could more clearly see the differences now that her mind was clearer--for example, the boy's face was softer and his mouth wasn't set in a constant contentious line like Kyou's seemed to be. His dark eyes were more brown than red, and more tender. Especially when they landed on the girl next to him did they glint with an adoring glimmer. He obviously cared about the girl.

Did Kyou Souma know what caring was?

The girl nodded at his assertion. "That's what the Watchers say. They say that Slayers are the only things holding humanity from the brink of extinction." She shook her head, the barrier shifting to accommodate her movements. "I just don't see how one girl can be that important. How can one person hold the weight of the world on their shoulders and not break?"

_The Slayer?_

I should have noticed, Buffy thought. She's a Slayer.

There were clues. The long, red-bladed sword gripped in the girl's left hand for one. She also carried a wicked-looking crossbow attached to a strap over her shoulder, a quiver of bolts casually slung over the other. But the most telling thing of all was something Buffy couldn't see with her eyes or put into words.

Instinct. Sisterhood. The girl was a warrior, just like her. A fighter.

A killer.

"I've done this for so long, Satoshi. I started when I was fifteen, but it feels like it's been decades. I feel so old, so dead sometimes." The girl's voice grew quiet and thoughtful, yet as sorrowful as her words were, the sadness never registered on her face, which still wore an obscure smile. "Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if I hadn't been called."

"A dull, boring, average life," Satoshi said with Kyou's characteristic snide nonchalance. "You aren't missing anything great."

"But this? Knowing I might be the one who fails to save the world? That I'm the arbiter of its destruction? It's too hard. Give me ten kids and health problems any day over this hell." The girl's face darkened. "I know I told Rosa that I--"

"Forget it. Forget what I said about us dying. We're going to kill this bastard, all right? He ain't so great. He's an ugly, worthless fuck. We'll kill him before he opens his eyes in this world."

"You'd think he would know about us trying to kill him, what with us being his children and everything." The girl shuddered slightly as she spoke. "God, isn't that creepy? That _thing_ is the reason we're here. We're just his food."

"It's more than that, Summer," Satoshi said quietly, the sarcastic wiped from his voice and face, leaving a blank. "It's--"

"--almost time," Summer finished, looking down at the watch on her hand. "Rosa said it would be at 4:39. Four minutes."

Satoshi nodded. "So these are our last minutes on Earth," he said. "Not exactly how I pictured 'em."

"Me neither," Summer said. She smiled warmly at Satoshi. "I'm okay."

Satoshi blinked at her. "Huh?"

Summer reached out with her free hand, the hand not grasping the long sword, and grasped his palm, gently folding her fingers around it. He hesitated for the briefest of moments before his fingers followed hers, enfolding her hand in a tight grip. "I'm okay," she repeated.

Buffy watched the exchange, feeling oddly involved as she watched the two people in front of her talk like the world was ending. The environment around her was still normal, as normal as a phantom land that might not even be real could be, anyway. Summer and Satoshi... why did she feel like she knew them?

"Summer, I..." Satoshi hesitated, still gripping Summer's hand tightly. He met her gaze and seemed to find something there in her eyes that let him continue to speak. "I shhteroo."

Buffy blinked. What the heck did that mean?

Summer's face broke into a surprised smile. "Satoshi, you--?"

Satoshi was smiling. Even as the world around them, around Buffy, began to darken, his smile remained bright, bringing light and color to the dying grass, the withering flowers. "I really do," he said quietly, gaze never wavering from Summer.

Summer opened her mouth to respond, but before Buffy could hear it, the scene faded back into the darkness that Buffy had originally been immersed in. She realized she was still crouched on the ground, hands over her eyes. Yet, when she removed them, the black remained.

Panic returned instantly to her, raising her heart rate and increasing the amount of air her lungs demanded. She was about to freak out again when she blinked, and everything changed in the millisecond that her eyes were closed.

The moon was back in its rightful place in the sky.

Shigure's manor sparkled in the distance.

Like they had always been there.

A coldness festered inside Buffy, increasing in intensity until she was sure she would freeze where she stood. Nothing was making sense. Neither the moon nor Shigure's house had been there when the moon had gone, and she had closed her eyes.

Had everything been a dream, a nightmare?

Summer... Satoshi...

_Ai shiteru._

She didn't know what the phrase meant, but she knew she had heard it before, from...

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Buffy headed for Shigure's house.

She wondered what time it was. She knew she had left Shigure's house around three in the afternoon, and now the sky was pitch black above her.

She knew she couldn't have been out walking for more than a few hours.

That was all she could remember.

Her phantom visions had faded into ghosts in the back of her consciousness. Like fragments of a dream that tempted her with their familirity and obscurity, there was nothing for her to latch on to and picture in her mind except for a faded images of Summer, of Satoshi, and his whispered, final words to the girl that Buffy didn't understand.

Buffy pocketed Mr. Pointy and wrapped her arms around herself as she continued to walk towards the house.

She didn't know what she expected to find there, except for pain and death.

But Tohru was there, and she couldn't turn her back on the defenseless girl. She was going to protect her until they found their way out of this terrible place.

It was a promise she would die to keep.

* * *

He wished that he hadn't been right.

Kyou lay on his back on his comfortable bed, his head resting on his folded hands as he stretched his body out. He stared up at the ceiling blankly, thoughts racing through his head about Buffy. About Hana and Kyoko. About Tohru.

Why did he care about any of them?

Hana and Kyoko had been Yuki and Shigure's servants, respectively. He'd never had much contact with either of them, so the news of their imprisonment had barely caused him to blink. He guessed he had just grown complacent after the first hundred Coliseum deaths. Being angry that it happened certainly didn't stop it from happening, so what was the point?

Tohru was, well, she wasn't Tohru. She wasn't the girl he had grown to care so strongly about, the girl he had been powerless to save. The Tohru staying at their house was a ghost, and shouldn't matter to him.

And Buffy.

Thinking her name brought an unwelcome image of her face to Kyou's mind. Maybe the girl was pretty or something, but there wasn't anything spectacular about her face. Her blonde hair was shiny and bouncy, _American_, but that wasn't anything he gave a damn about.

He searched within himself for the reason he had protested so greatly to her insistence on throwing herself into a death trap, and he found nothing logical to latch on to.

He just cared.

About all of them.

_Fuck,_ he thought despondently. He didn't want to care about those dead girls or those phantoms who belonged to another reality. Caring led to all sorts of crap, like pain and stupidity and loss of apathy.

Sitting in the pit of his stomach was a seed of uneasiness. It had been there ever since he had looked into Buffy's eyes and seen that he wasn't going to discourage her from trying to save Kyoko. A moot point now, to be sure, but the determination he had seen there wasn't an easy thing to forget.

That was a girl who lived like she had nothing to lose.

That was a girl who had nothing to lose.

That was a girl who

_I feel like I've met you before, somewhere._

was like no one he had ever known.

He found her actions foolish, her morals idealistic and naive. She was so concerned with justice that logic took a backseat, and she threw herself into danger's grasp, disregarding those around her who needed her to be okay.

But would did he care so much about a girl he had just met?

Kyou felt a sharp spike of pain in his stomach, and he closed his eyes tightly, focusing on in. It was a welcome distraction from the feelings of emotional turmoil festering in his mind. He had never been able to deal well with emotional scars, which was why he was so practiced in the art of hiding his feelings with anger and annoyance. He realized he should have dealt with Buffy's plight that way, reacting to her in an uncaring manner, then she could have gone to someone else for help and found out the hard way that her situation was hopeless. He'd been the bearer of bad news, and that never went over well. She probably hated him.

_Dammit, why am I feeling this?_

He hadn't angsted like this since Tohru's death, and this was a far less grave situation. He mentally punched himself repeatedly, but it didn't ease the dull ache swelling inside.

Centered in his heart, somewhere, was an open wound.

Kyou leapt out of bed, suddenly, unable to fight the urge to get out any longer. He needed something, anything, to distract him until he felt tired enough to escape into sleep.

His door burst open, and he whirled around to see the person who had entered.

"Kagura," he said dully, scowling at the lovely girl framed in his doorway. "What a surprise."

"I missed you, honey!" Kagura squealed, sprinting forward and wrapping her arms around the sullen boy. "It's been _years_!"

"It's been two days, you crazy hag," Kyou retorted, keeping his body stiff and his expression uninviting. Like that mattered in the least. If there was anyone in the world without the ability to take a hint, it was Kagura Souma.

_Stupid bitch._

"Well, didn't you miss _me_, Kyou?" Kagura demanded, pulling back and looking the cat in the face. Her eyebrows drew down over her eyes in an angry glower, and her mouth twisted itself into an ugly frown. "You have to say you missed me."

"Have you been smoking something?" Kyou questioned. "What are the odds I'm going to bother lying for you?"

Kagura shoved him hard, pushing him back onto his bed in a sitting position. "You're such a kidder, Kyou. Always a riot," she said wryly, baring her teeth in a frustrated grimace. "As much as I love that little snide tone your voice takes when you joke around with me, I'd really like you to tell me you missed me."

"No," he said vehemently in a tone that told her he was disgusted by her cheap pleas for affection. He decided brevity would be his weapon this time. There was no point in wasting the breath on words she was too oblivious to listen to.

"That's too bad. Maybe I'm spoiling you, Kyou. You're getting used to having me around and taking me for granted." Kagura watched him carefully, her fingers clenching at her sides as her hands curled into taunt fists. Kyou found his gaze drawn to her hands, remembering the pain they could bring to his flesh. As badly as he dealt with his non-physical trauma, somehow Kagura found the ways to make his body ache worse.

He returned his gaze to her face and shrugged. "Whatever."

"You look down in the dumps," Kagura observed, the honey returning to coat her voice. "What's wrong, Kyou sweetie?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me. I know something's wrong. You weren't at dinner."

"Not hungry."

Traces of anger began to trickle in the lines on Kagura's face. Her voice hardened slightly as she spoke, "You're lying to me. You weren't at breakfast, either. You must be starving." Light green eyes darkened like the sky outside his window, harsh and unyielding to the light of the lamp that flickered on his corner dresser. The emerald of her eyes all but disappeared in the all-consumning ink of her rising fury. "What is it? You have to tell me."

Like all the other things he "had" to do for her, her command went unheeded. There was just no way to respond to her question in a brief manner, so he chose silence.

Kagura shifted her tactic. "Fine. Your way it is, Kyou. Don't say I never do anything for you." She paused to take a deep breath, probably struggling to keep her anger at bay. "So what do you think of those new girls? That Slayer and her little friend. Have you talked to them yet?"

"No." The truth would have invited more annoying questions.

"Not a surprise. My little Kyou is such an unfriendly little kitty," Kagura purred, sliding her palm along the side of his face. "They seem like such nice girls. Give them a chance."

Kyou was wary of a trick. "You want me to get friendly with other girls now? You _have_ been smoking."

"I'm in the mood to see some blood splatter," Kagura said in a conversational tone. "Just looking for an excuse."

"What makes you think you can kill a Slayer?" Kyou asked, feeling uneasy about the flippant way in which she referred to murdering innocent people. Though he had his own doubts about the greatness of Buffy's fighting abilities, Kagura didn't know that. He might as well pretend to think Buffy was some super warrior chick Kagura couldn't hope to hurt, even with her legions of demon bodyguards and her own superior fighting skills.

Kagura saw through him, as was her way. She smirked. "I'm sure she's just got the cutest way of flailing when she fights, Kyou. You know she would be dead two seconds after I said the word. Lucky for her, I've been enjoying the struggle lately." She cracked her knuckles. "Besides, I'm more interested in the other girl. You know. The frail, weak, pathetic-looking one. She looks pure. There's something about the bright red hue of innocent blood that just makes me smile."

Kyou couldn't repress his snort of incredulity. "'Hue of innocent blood'? I see you're planning to kill Buffy and Tohru with your brain-numbing cliches."

Kagura's smile appeared frozen in place as her eyes grew colder, drawing parts of him into their endless depths. Her irises matched her pupils now, but that was impossible and must have been a trick of the light or of his mind. Kagura may have been cold and merciless, but she was a human being. The color of her eyes didn't actually change with her ever-volatile moods, however much they seemed to.

Coldness was creeping over Kyou's innards, crystalizing his heart into ice. Her eyes and creepy smile continued to affect him deeply, until he felt the overwhelming urge to talk and break the silence that bound his eyes to her. "You wouldn't kill a couple of innocent girls," he said. "It wouldn't mean anything to you, and you wouldn't get any pleasure out of it."

"You know better," Kagura admonished, her wide smile genuine as she peered intently at the sullen cat. "The pain is pleasure enough for me. The kill, the release." She seemed to change topics in a breath, or maybe not. "Where do you think souls go when someone dies?"

"Yours is set for hell," Kyou said in a knowledgeable tone. "I know that much."

Kagura lifted her shoulders. "Hell is subjective. This is hell to some people. Hana and Kyoko come to mind. You know, I never liked those girls. They had egos far too large for their social positions. It was fun to see them get cut down."

Kyou blinked at the girl. "What, you were there?"

"Yeah. Just dropping off a few more prisoners for the next set of games which I'll be hosting. It's going to be a nice show."

Kyou was still stuck on her mention of Kyoko and Hana; he bypassed her comment about the other prisoners. "You saw the guards kill Hana and Kyoko?" he asked again.

Kagura rolled her eyes. "Yes. I already said this. Did you want the gory details, it that it?"

Kyou didn't answer, not sure what he wanted. Perhaps a part of him was curious as to how the event had gone down. Perhaps if he learned more how it had happened, he could feel less personal guilt about all of it.

_I didn't pull the trigger._

"Yeah, okay, tell me what happened," Kyou replied, hating to ask the girl for anything. Lord only knew what she would want in return.

She surprised him by not asking for anything of him, instead she smiled, a spark of happiness glimmering in her eyes. Light green returned to her irises as she looked at him joyfully. "Okay, great! You're going to love this story, Kyou. It's a real page-turner."

Kyou somehow managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes at her. Sarcasm and insults had to wait until he got the desired information out of her. "Okay, right," he said evenly. "So?"

Well," Kagura started with relish, "I had just locked up my prisoners in the spare cell, because of course Hana and Kyoko were in the main cell, or supposed to be, anyway. I was walking down the outer corridor of the building with my two bodyguards when I caught sight of two figures in the distance. It looked like they were running away from the place. I had my guards order them to stop and identify themselves, but they kept running away."

Kyou began to feel sick as Kagura related her story. He knew what was coming next. "You shot them," he said tonelessly.

"Of course not, Kyou! You know how I detest using guns to kill people. It's too quick and painless, not to mention the fact that when you shoot from such a long distance you barely get a decent-sized wound. No, my guards shot them." Kagura spoke of this casually, like she was relaying an everday occurance to him. And in a way, he guessed she was.

"You ordered them to shoot. You ordered them to kill," Kyou insisted, his voice never reaching a higher pitch than his normal speaking voice. He supposed he was in shock, yet a part of him observed this as nothing to be surprised about. Just another couple of corpses at the Coliseum.

"Oh, quiet down about it, already. I get your point. Anyway, I'm not done. See, the shots didn't kill them. It just brought them down. Me and my guards hurried over to the two girls, who were struggling and writhing quite a bit. My guards had caught both of them in their abdomens. I guess they didn't aim for the chest because they're morons. Anyway, there was some blood around, you know, but not enough to be interesting. I told my guards to pick them up and take them back to their cells for punishment."

Kyou watched the girl wordlessly, his nausea rising to the point where he knew he would vomit if it didn't stop.

"Well, the girls were more resourceful then I thought. When my guards were picking them up, one of the girls, Miss Hana Sakejime, managed to grab one of their guns and shot him in the chest. Really! She did that. He actually died, it was pretty cool. I saw she was gunning for the other guard next and figured I would be her last target, so I kicked the gun out of her hands, pulled out my knife and gutted her like a fish. She sort of fell to the ground, you know, dying, so we ended up just taking the one, Kyoko, back to her cell."

Kyou blinked. "How did Kyoko die?" he managed to ask, his voice sounding distant from himself. A ghost in the room might have been speaking for all he was concerned.

_She pulled the trigger._

"Oh? She didn't. We're still saving her for the next round of games. Akito has some very special surprises planned for her. She'll wish she had died, I suppose. They always do." Kagura caught the look on Kyou's face. "What?"

"We were told Kyoko was dead," he replied.

"Oh, that's a surprise for the audience," Kagura said. "Everyone is going to think she died, and then she's just there, waiting to be played with. It's going to bring the roof down, not that there's a roof there anyway. So don't go telling anyone about it, okay?"

"I'll fucking tell everybody!" Kyou spat back, anger rushing in to replace the emptiness that had been stifling his emotions. "You can't play with people's minds like this!"

"Just why the hell not?" Kagura replied. "Who cares whether or not some worthless sack of flesh is dead?

_I care because I have to! That's what a Slayer does._

"Kyoko's friends and family are dead, she said so herself. She's got no one to cry over her grave, not that she'll be getting one. She's nobody."

_"'Help out others whenever you can.' Mom told me that."_

_"It's good advice."_

_"Well, she's a good mother."_

Kyoko wasn't nobody.

To Tohru, she'd been everything.

Kyou found himself where Buffy had been. It was a frightening place to be, looking at the dark truth etched on Kagura's face and laced in her cold words. Was this how Buffy had seen him? An unfeeling moster devoid of conscience and hope, accepting the grim fate dictated by sadistic demons instead of fighting against it, even with the odds horribly stacked against victory?

Fighting back because it was the right thing to do.

Because it gave Kyoko a fighting chance, when turning away meant certain death.

_I pulled the trigger._

"Anyway," Kagura said, boredom flashing over her features. "Back to the point, wanna fuck now?"

Kyou paused a moment, thoughts about Kyoko, Buffy, and Tohru fading from his mind when he looked into the cruel girl's bottomless eyes. She was the pressing issue here, not dying servant girls and shadows from a distant dimension. Kagura had come to his room with a purpose, and he had to shut her down. He smiled; she already knew what his answer was. She was merely waiting to hear how he would phrase it. "Yeah, sure, how about I fuck your throat after I slit it?"

Kagura smiled sweetly. "We need to work on your amorous proclamations, Kyou. There's something that turns me off about your necro urges towards parts of me that have been gouged out." The mirth disappeared from her face in an instant, and she glared down at the boy beneath her. "I tire of the games. Are you done playing hard to get? Are you done rejecting me?"

"I enjoy it too much, I think," Kyou replied snidely. "So don't place your bets on it."

Kagura leaned over the boy, planting her knees on both sides of him and straddling him on the bed. "But you want me, I can feel it," she said, reaching her hand between them to stroke the front of his pants. Her bottom rubbed against him alluringly as she closed the distance between them. "You're just being stubborn."

Kyou usually used his words as weapons against Kagura instead of physical force, because the mere spoken insults were usually effective enough to deeply wound the girl's pride. He wasn't in the mood to do that anymore, not today, not with her that close to him. Her hand was moving over his detested arousal, and he directed every ounce of his anger at the girl pressing down on top of him. Buffy, Kyoko, Shigure, Yuki, Tohru... they weren't in the room with him. He couldn't yell at them or beat them senseless. Kagura morphed into the conglomeration of every being and situation that had elicited his anger recently, and he felt nothing but hate for her then. He drew his head away from her, as if shying away from an undesirable presence, and swiftly brought his forehead roughly in contact with Kagura's nose. He felt and heard the sickening crack of her cartilage against his solid frontal bone, and smiled when he heard the cry of pain escape her lips.

Kagura fell off him, landing backwards on the floor, holding one of her hands to her bloody nose. "Shit, Kyou!" she swore. "You broke my nose!"

"Good," Kyou said, nodding in approval at her predicament. "I hoped that would happen." His forehead ached where his bone had connected, but it wasn't so bad.

Kagura brought her blood-covered hand down, staring at him in shock. "What's happened to you?" she whispered, the tough-girl attitude replaced with disbelief and hurt. "You never hit girls."

"Today's been a bad day," Kyou said dryly.

Kagura sprang to her feet, ignoring the free-flowing blood. "You stupid bastard! How dare you! I should beat you for this!"

"Come near me again, and I'll snap your neck," Kyou said coldly. "I don't need your shit right now."

"You'd kill me," Kagura said softly, looking down at the boy with a blank face and expressionless eyes. "You would kill me in cold blood?"

Kyou had to take pause and ponder the answer to that question. If he was to be honest, he would have to admit that he couldn't kill the girl. That would make him no better than any of the other heartless bastards here who threw innocent people into the hands of bloodthirsty demons. Kagura may have been deserving of death for the pain and suffering she loved to inflict upon others, but he couldn't be the one to give it to her. That would make him the same as her.

_Though maybe there's difference between killing an innocent and a known murderer..._

Still, he couldn't feel right about killing her, not yet. But hurting her felt okay.

"You wouldn't," Kagura answered for him, sounding relieved. "But you hurt me. I can't believe you did that."

Kyou shrugged. "Yeah, well you don't have to stand here mulling over it all day. Get the hell out of my room."

The familiar anger snapped back into place over Kagura's features. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Kyou. You give me no choice."

Kyou was feeling cocky, enjoying the sight of the blood flowing down Kagura's nostrils coating her lips. "Mmm hmm. Whatever."

Kagura was quick. He was barely aware that she had moved when he felt a thousand spikes of pain shoot through his scalp. Kagura had caught a handful of his orange hair in her hand and pulled him roughly up off the bed. Once he was upright, she threw him down to the floor. His bottom took the brunt of the fall, but the top right side of his head caught the edge of the dresser, causing stars to dance in his vision. He blinked but couldn't see anything in front of his eyes except the blur of Kagura's fist rushing down to meet his jaw. The force of her punch was such that he heard a definitive crack and felt for sure his jaw had been broken. His head was a huge ball of pain as Kagura moved up to smack the left side of his face. The free hand of hers that wasn't pummleing him returned to yank at his hair. The punching ceased, and left Kyou disoriented before the large blossoms of pain turned into thin slivers of icy anguish. She was using her long, sharp nails to scratch at his cheeks.

The pain stopped abruptly, and Kyou knew what was coming next. It always happened this way. The alternating of Kagura's beating him up viciously and kissing him on the mouth, tenderly, in the style of close lovers. Before, he usually lay motionless beneath her, letting her lips push against his and her tongue explore the interior of his mouth. This time, he wasn't feeling so charitable.

The instant he felt Kagura's tongue licking his, he bit down.

A rush of blood filled his mouth as Kagura's cry of pain filled his ears. The weight on top of him lessened as Kagura instinctively pulled away, and the second his mouth was free, Kyou collected her blood into a wad and spit it out at her. The red-streaked glob hit her in the cheek and grotesquely slid down her face, mixing with the drying red streaks already there. She looked inhuman at that point, a demon wearing the blood splatters of her victims as grim scars of triumph. Only this demon was wearing her own blood.

Kyou's head ached too much for him to comtemplate sitting up, so all he could do was watch as Kagura got to her feet and began to kick furiously at his body. Her shoes caught him on both sides, leaving big sore spots of pain wherever they landed. He must have been bleeding internally, it certainly felt that way. Someone had crammed a blowtorch in his stomach full blast. He would have to see Hatori later. In the end, he just looked at her as she kicked him like a broken appliance. In the end, that's why she stopped.

Meeting Kyou's gaze, Kagura froze, her foot pulled back for another devastating blow. She placed her foot slowly on the ground and stepped back. "Kyou, I'm--" Her face twisted into a grimace, and she lifted a hand to her mouth, poking gingerly at her sore tongue. "Shit, that hurts. I can't believe..." she murmured. She swallowed roughly and tried again to speak. "I'm going to end up killing you. Do you accept this?"

Kyou licked his lips, grimacing. It was like his insides had been tossed into a blender. He didn't know whether to laugh in her face or vomit. He cleared his throat, swallowing the blood that trickled into his mouth from the lacerations on his skin left by her sharp nails. "You could kill me, or you could stop being an irrational, violent bitch," he said wearily. "I wonder which is more likely to happen."

Kagura didn't smile at him. "No one else in her right mind would touch you. Not only because one hug and you're in kitty litter town. The simple fact is that you have a demon inside you that no one could ever accept. If you were lucky, the Slayer might not bring a sword to your neck and behead you. I accept you, I do. I don't care about your demon. I love you."

Kyou coughed, struggling to sit up despite his blinding headache. "I must have forgotten to thank you for that," he said bitterly, "because I don't really give a fuck, of course."

Kagura looked back at him solemnly as she moved towards the door. "You will, Kyou," she said. "You will."

Kyou said nothing, and the girl left his room, shutting the door succinctly behind her.

He gave up on the venture of sitting, instead falling back down onto his back and staring at the ceiling, his body aching.

There was no way he was getting to sleep now.


	9. My Tonight

**Disclaimer**: The characters are not mine, with the exception of the originals.

Chapter Nine:  
_My Tonight_  
**Chapter Summary:** _The blood was already staining his hands. Kagura's blood. He had washed it away, but as he brought his hands up, staring at them above him, they dripped red with unseen crimson rivulets._

Tohru was choking on her own darkness.

Buffy brought her hand to the girl's forehead, smoothing the sweaty bangs back from her pallid skin. "Tohru," she whispered, "Tohru, wake up."

Blue eyes flew open, blind for the first few moments. They focused on Buffy, and a slight sob escaped Tohru's parched throat. "Oh!" she exclaimed. Her voice was scratchy. "Buffy, what are you doing?"

"Waking you up from what looked to be a seriously Elm Street nightmare," Buffy replied, wiping her damp hand on the thigh of her pants. She smiled hesitantly at the girl as she sat up, leaning back against the headboard of the four-poster bed. "Was it?"

Tohru blinked. "Huh?"

"A nightmare. Was it?"

"Oh." Tohru nodded slowly, feeling gradually returning to her as drowsiness gave way to clarity. She realized her locket was still clenched tightly in her hand, and she relaxed her aching joints, letting the necklace slip from between her fingers to rest on top of the sheets. "I think so. I--I can't really remember clearly."

"Probably for the good," Buffy said glibly, setting her mouth in a comical line. "I just got in from a walk. Thought I'd check to see how you were doing." She paused. "Bad, I guess?"

Tohru lifted her shoulders slightly. "I just..." She trailed off, not knowing any possible way to finish the sentence. She was doing terribly, and Buffy was sharp. It was no guess.

"I know it wasn't Mom," Tohru said finally, staring down at the sweat-stained sheets. Her skin felt clammy, her loose clothes plastered to her in the damper places. "That it wasn't _my_ mom. I know that. But it still hurts."

Buffy swallowed. "I understand," she said. "I think I can. These are your family and friends we're dealing with, not mine. If we were in Sunnydale, if it was my mom, I'd feel the same." Her eyes clouded. "Like I lost her twice."

She would have joined Buffy in tears, but Tohru was all cried out. Her sorrow remained inside of her, slipping through every crack and crevice of her heart and soul, poisoning her. It would have been okay if she felt her mother with her. If when she held the locket, she remembered the feel of her mother's arms around her, holding her, telling her everything would be okay. If she could reach out and touch her mother's love, bathe in it, lose herself in it and let the world fall around her, glowing with the the light of hope that her mother's memory always gave her.

She didn't have that anymore.

Her family was gone. Shigure, Yuki, and Kyou weren't there to pick up the pieces and take care of her, helping her get through the rough times with their care and concern. _This_ Shigure was cruel, this Yuki distant, this Kyou hostile.

She didn't have them anymore.

All she had was the girl sitting beside her, the stranger looking at her with a mixture of confusion and tenderness. She didn't know why her gaze was drawn to the window to her left, or why she expected to see the early morning rays of light streaming through the gauzy white curtains.

_Dawn._

She turned her eyes back to Buffy. The Slayer was fidgeting nervously, hands pulling at the sheets. It seemed she was having a problem with sitting still, so she got up, moving to the window and pulled the curtains back, revealing the stark blackness seething outside. She placed her hand flat on the windowpane, her face expressionless as she set her gaze upon the sight of nothing before her. "It's cold," she said flatly, without turning to face Tohru.

"It doesn't seem like winter," Tohru said hesitantly, wondering at the abrupt change in Buffy's demeanor. "A-are you okay?"

"Do you think we'll get home? I mean, do you think this is..." Buffy looked sheepish, removing her hand from the window and adjusting the drapes so that the window was once again hidden from view. Glittering hazel eyes turned on Tohru questioningly. "Do you think this is something I can fight?"

Tohru was unsure of what she was being asked. She nodded slowly. "I think we'll get home," she said softly. "Once we figure out how we got here, we can get back. But... something you can fight? I'm afraid I don't understand."

Buffy adjusted her gaze to stare at the wall with unnatural interest. "This world. How things are. Can I change it? Is there even a point in trying?"

Tohru hunched over, knowing that her opinion was as disposable as garbage in a situation like this. She wasn't a Slayer, and she couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like to be a girl with such power. "I think the world will fix itself, in time," she said slowly.

_Why couldn't you save her?_

"Humans are strong. They'll survive, as long as there's..."

"Hope?" Buffy supplied, mouth turning up in a grim smile. "Light? 'Cause let me tell you, seeing a definite shortage on the shelves of both." The Slayer began to pace around the center of Tohru's room, using what confining open space she was given. "You saw Kyoko yesterday. She had no hope. And it turns out she was right, about her fate, at least. She knew she was dead."

"Buffy," Tohru said in a pained voice, her tears coming back as another painful gash along her heart brought fresh pain. "Don't--"

Buffy's movements accelerated, her agitation growing. "Kyou was right, about all of it. I was fooling myself to think I could save her, make a difference. This world doesn't have right and wrong. There's only wrong, and no amount of right is going to matter in the long run."

"No, Buffy."

Buffy threw an annoyed glare at Tohru. "How can you believe that? You know what happened to Kyoko. She was murdered for sport!"

A tear slipped out of Tohru's eye and slid down her numb cheek. "She was killed because she tried to escape--"

"Escape! What did she care about the risks? She knew she was dead either way!" Buffy exclaimed. "It doesn't take genius to see that."

"Stop," Tohru whispered. "Please, I--"

Buffy's eyes were mysteriously dry, even as her voice shook with emotion. "And I couldn't stop it. I knew she was going to be killed, and I couldn't do anything for her. I--" She paused, searching for words. "I'm alone," she said finally, letting out a trembling breath.

"Buffy, you're not--" Tohru tried to break in, but Buffy was intent on finishing.

"I don't have Giles here to tell me what books to read and what demons to slay. I don't have Willow here to look things up on the computer and try to put a spell together to make things easier. I don't have Angel nearby to call for help. I don't have Xander to..." She seemed to falter with her last sentence, and she froze in place, holding a hand to her eyes. "I don't have _Xander_. I don't have anyone to help me. And I can't do things alone. I just..."

Tohru pushed the sheets away from her and stood, moving towards Buffy's still form. "You aren't alone," she said meekly, reaching out and placing a hand on Buffy's forearm. "I'm here, Buffy, I'm with you. And the Soumas, they're not all... they're not all bad. They'll help. We just have to ask them."

"No." Buffy shook her head slowly, backing away from Tohru and breaking the contact between them. "No, even if the Soumas were nice, they can't help. They said they don't know anything about magic. That's the only thing that will get us home."

Tohru bit her lower lip, thinking hard about Buffy's words. "So what are we going to do then?" she asked. "How are we going to find the way home?"

Buffy's hair hung loosely in her face, and when she lifted her head to meet Tohru's eyes, the strands fell back to reveal a pale, tired expression. "I don't know. Not yet. I'm going to have to look around, see if there's anything helpful here. If there isn't, then we've got to get moving."

Tohru nodded. "You should get to bed, Buffy. You look really tired. Things will be better in the morning, with the sun shining. Everything looks brighter."

"I guess," Buffy said, roughly pushing her hair back along the side of her head. She moved to the door but turned back, her expression solemn. "Take care, Tohru," she said quietly. "Try to stay nightmare-free."

Tohru smiled. "I will. Goodnight, Buffy."

Buffy exited the room, shutting the door behind her.

Tohru stared at the unlocked door, her gaze lingering on the simple lock adorning the knob. _Should I?_ she wondered, thinking about Shigure's peculiar behavior earlier that day.

_"It might be best to lock it."_

Was the danger outside?

In the end, she decided to leave it unlocked.

* * *

"You look like crap," Haru called out, his heavy boots making loud scraping sounds as he slowly walked across the the gritty surface of the roof towards the lone boy who lay spread on his back, staring at the starless sky above. He paused several feet away from the orange-haired living monument to hurt, staring down at him without a trace of sympathy, without much of an expression at all.

Kyou smirked, lowering his eyebrows in pain. "I can't look like crap. All the crap was kicked out of me," he said crassly, knowing there was no reason to hold back with Hatsuharu. "That damn bitch."

Haru lowered himself onto the roof, stretching his long legs in front of him and leaning back on his slender elbows. "You have to kill her," he said simply, settling his gaze to a fixed point in front of him. There was nothing there but empty space, but he focused on it, letting the cool night air push his spiky bangs into his face.

"Yeah, if it was as simple as saying it, I wouldn't hesitate," Kyou swore, rolling his head back on his folded arms, glancing up at Haru. "How did you know I was up here?"

"I didn't," Haru replied casually.

Silence fell between them, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Quite the opposite, actually, as it was something both had grown accustomed to in their interactions with each other. They were men of few words, at least when the words had to do with introspection and emotions, things of relevance. Yet, somehow their rivalry had ended the same time as the world, and now they considered each other to be friends, or something to that effect. They were no longer enemies, although Black Haru still seemed to have a bone to pick with him.

The quiet stretched long and thick, weaving itself seamlessly with the dark cold surrounding them. It was chillier on the roof than on the ground, almost like the moonbeams were reaching out to encircle them with icy hands. There was nowhere to hide from the omnipresent orb; it was cold everywhere.

"So did you want to talk about something?" Kyou asked finally, glancing again at Haru, who was staring stoically ahead.

"Not really," Haru said. He paused for a few moments, long enough for Kyou to think he was done speaking. For that reason, his next words caused the cat to startle slightly. "The Slayer."

Kyou blinked, his mind slow to understand. "Huh?"

Haru finally moved his gaze to look down at Kyou. His face was blank slate. "That Slayer that just came here. With that other girl. Have you met her yet?"

Kyou averted his eyes, being careful to keep emotions off his face. "Yeah."

"What's she like?" Despite the implications of such a question towards interest in the answer, Haru's voice betrayed nothing but shallow apathy. If Kyou had been looking at him, he would have seen the same on his face.

"Uh, I don't know. She's just kind of--" Kyou stumbled over his words, realizing how ill-prepared he was to deal with such a question. What was Buffy like? Damned if he could put what he felt about her into coherent words suitable for others to hear.

_Well, she's stupid. She's got this thing where she feels she has to take up lost causes. She's strong, I guess, she keeps knocking me on my ass, anyway. Her eyes change colors. She's stubborn when she wants to be right, even when she knows she's wrong. Real pig-headed. Dumb, like I said. And she's pretty, but she's still a damn idiot. I think I can hug her and not change into a cat, which is really fucking weird. Doesn't make any damn sense at all, but that kind of fits with her, because she doesn't make any sense. I don't get her. Shit, I don't know._

The thoughts that raced through his head jumbled together in a muddled mess, and all he managed to pull out of the wreckage was, "I don't get her."

Haru took in the response. "Is she a Scarlett clone?"

"Oh, hell no. Thank God. If anything, this girl's got too many morals and ideals." Kyou snorted. "The moron was really thinking about breaking into the Coliseum to rescue Kyoko Honda."

Haru nodded. "How did that work out for her?"

"Didn't. Kyoko died trying to break out of the place herself. Put a kink in Buffy's plans." Kyou rolled his eyes. He added quietly, to himself, "I still don't think she gets it." Louder, he asked curiously, "Why ask about her?"

"I went out drinking with Ayame and Hatori today. Ayame was talking about the girl's show at the Coliseum; I was there but not really paying attention." Haru explained. "He sort of droned on about how magnificent and strong she was. I figured that meant she'd have an ego like Scarlett. Like maybe it always comes with the Slayer package."

"Scarlett's an ugly hag, like Kagura. They could be sisters," Kyou said derisively, shifting his aching body into a more comfortable position. He chuckled darkly. "You think that's why we talk? We've both got obsessive whores clinging to our backs?"

The left side of Haru's mouth curled into a smile. "At least mine can't hug me."

"Well, rub it in, you bastard," Kyou replied sourly. "Yours could beat you up a lot worse than mine, if she was more of a psycho."

Haru shrugged. "If she gets any more buddy-buddy with Kagura, she probably will lose it."

"Shit, we're talking about girls," Kyou snorted, moving one of his arms from behind his head to rest over his eyes. "When did we become morons?"

"That only applies if we're talking about girls we like," Haru said. "We're safe, although I wouldn't mind a change in topic."

Kyou waved his hand dismissively in the air. "It's not like there's anything else going on."

Haru shrugged. "Guess not."

Seconds ticked by in which nothing was said. The conversation hit a lull, as neither of them wanted to continue speaking about girls they'd rather forget. It was Haru who broke the silence this time, asking, "Don't think she gets what?"

Kyou was confounded. "What?"

"Earlier, talking about the new Slayer. You said she didn't get something."

It took Kyou a moment to place the question. When he remembered his hushed comment to himself, he flushed, disliking that Haru had overheard. "She just--eh--she was--" he fumbled for a coherent response and failed. He ended up looking at Haru annoyed, unable to put his thoughts into words.

Haru met the gaze steadily, unaffected by Kyou's discomfort. "You don't think she gets the way things are here?" He paused, but Kyou refrained from giving his input. The younger boy continued, "It's understandable, you know, at first. Her world wasn't like this, probably. It's a lot to adjust to."

Kyou, feeling insolent, turned his head away from Haru, his features settling into a scowl. "I guess. But you know, she doesn't have to be such a stubborn bitch about it. You'd think she was God, the way she thinks she has to save everyone. It just..."

Haru was watching Kyou carefully. "You like her," he said.

Kyou choked on his anger, redness rising in his face. "The hell?" he spat, attempting to sit up until the pain forced him back down. He glowered at the calm boy above him. "What the hell are you on? I don't like her! If anything, I _dis_like her! She's an idiot!"

"I don't think so," Haru said quietly.

"Are you listening!" Kyou exclaimed angrily, the intense heat of his emotions doing little to quell his aches and pains. Silently, he cursed Buffy for existing. "I hate her!"

"I don't think she's an idiot, not for wanting to save Kyoko," Haru clarified, reaching out and brushing his hand against Kyou's shoulder. "Calm down and let me explain myself."

"Save your breath. Nothing you say is going to convince me that trying to save a dead woman and getting yourself killed in the process is a smart move," Kyou said, waiting for his heart rate to slow. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "She was just going to charge in there, no weapons, and try to fight her way to the cell. Don't you see how impossible and-- and _dumb_ that is?"

"I can't say I know what she was thinking," Haru admitted. "But from what you and Ayame have told me, she doesn't sound like a stupid girl."

Kyou sighed, frustrated. He was already being misunderstood. _Damn girl._ "I didn't _mean_ she was a stupid person. She just has some really dumb ideas."

"She's a smart girl who makes stupid choices?" Haru asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow at Kyou. "You seem kind of flustered. Are you sure you don't like this girl?"

Kyou shot deadly venom at Haru with his glare. Though not intimidated in the least, Haru backed off, most likely out of friendship or just plain boredom. He shifted the conversation to safer topics. "Are you spending the night up here?"

"Yeah. I don't need Yuki bothering me about my appearance," Kyou muttered, closing his eyes against the bitter wind that picked up around them. He heard Haru stand, felt his looming presence over him. When he remained for more than a few seconds, he asked, "Got somethin' else to say?"

"No. There's nothing else to say." Boots crunching, Haru made his way to the edge of the roof where the ladder rested. Kyou listened as the boy climbed down, sounds fading out of the reach of Kyou's ears, leaving him alone with the quiet.

Leaving him to his relentless thoughts.

_How could you let her die?_

Kyou had neglected to tell Haru that Kyoko Honda was not dead. In fact, his talk over the matter had made it seem like the opposite was true.

So Kagura's story had slipped his mind. He had forgotten.

Now he was lying to himself.

_I can't tell anybody. It won't make a difference to tell the Soumas, not even Haru. He wouldn't do anything. The only person who would care is Buffy, and I already know what she would do if I told her._

The blood was already staining his hands. Kagura's blood. He had washed it away, but as he brought his hands up, staring at them above him, they dripped red with unseen crimson rivulets.

Kyoko's blood began to sizzle, to burn.

He ignored the pain. It went away, back into his head, where it had always been.

He couldn't tell Buffy. He felt that if she died, he might feel something.

It was a selfish decision.

But that was nothing new.

* * *

She was a beauty, the girl who lay curled up in the bland gray sheets. Her slender hands gripped at the stale cotton, holding the coverings up to her chin and close to her body. Innocence rolled off of her in waves, the smell intoxicating. Flowers and sunsets forgotten in the world wafted up towards his nose, bathing him in the scent of her home.

His eyes couldn't seem to move from her face. Eyes closed, mouth drawn into a soft line, much of the impact of her smiling, expressive visage was lost in the grim act of sleep. She appeared to him as a beautiful corpse, a lovely cadaver awaiting its burial. He imagined a million different ways he could go to her and wake her up, bringing emotion to her features. Pain and pleasure, they weren't so at odds with each other, not in his mind. They could be the same.

He always preferred the pain. It reminded him of _his_ home.

He moved forward in the darkened room, sweeping with the shadows through the thick black, glad that the girl had blocked the moonlit window with its heavy curtains. Only the faintest of lights managed to limp into the room, just enough spilling over the bed to illuminate her in front of his eyes. His keen eyesight in the dark was inexplicable, an anomaly with no scientific reason. He didn't need the moonlight to see her, all of her that was revealed to him. She was as clear as day there.

Breathing in tune to the wind howling outside that scraped at the window glass with arctic nails, he backed away from her, having a picture tucked away in his mind, having no need to watch her anymore. He liked to bide his time and draw it out; the suspense and tension always made the reward that much greater in the end. He had many hopes for her in his future. Somehow, he knew she was going to be the one.

She wasn't his normal type. In the past, the ones like himself... quiet, reticent... had been the ones he loved to break beneath his fingers, crush in his hands. She was like no one else here, those who wandered around in their private miseries, wrapped up in the sorrow of bleak existances. She was open. She was free.

Tohru Honda had hope.

* * *

She was a warrior, the girl who lay sprawled on her back underneath the bland gray sheets. Her slender arms rested on top of the stale cotton, bent up towards her head. Strength rolled off of her in waves, the fragrance vitalizing. Blood and sweat mixed together in a heady mix, drifting towards him, triggering fading memories of the past and future.

He stared at the exquisite girl, amazed by the fact that such a small girl contained so much power. An untapped well of potential boiled inside her bones, inside her blood, and she had yet to tap the surface of her true might. He knew with his unseen guidance, she would get to where he needed her to be, and she would be strong enough to destroy him.

To destroy them all. To destroy the world.

Everything rested on a pair of shoulders no wider than the length of his forearm. He lifted a slender hand towards her frozen figure, hovering his fingers less than a centimeter away from the sheets draped over the alluring curve of her hip. He could tell she had removed her unsightly pants to sleep, wearing only the over-sized shirt she had been sporting earlier. His hand longed to fall, to rest on her hip and stroke away the barrier of cloth that separated their skin, sliding his palm along her silky flesh, bringing her from her sleep with a moan of instinctual pleasure.

Then, he had never been one to get his kicks that way. To him, the taste of a girl's blood was as sweet as the taste of her ambrosia. The result was the same no matter which route he chose. Pleasure and pain always lead to the same place, for him and for her.

There was only one place for a girl such as her to go.

He lifted his hand away from the delicious warmth radiating from her lithe body. He drank in the sight and scent of her a last time, moving backwards towards the door automatically, eyes never straying. She was like no one else here, strong where they were weak, weak where they were nothing. She was hot. She was bright.

Buffy Summers had fire.


	10. Ravenous Amidst

**Disclaimer**: The characters are not mine, with the exception of the originals.  
**NOTE:** In the manga, Kyou's bracelet is red and white, said to be made from human blood and bones. So, naturally, I'm using that interpretation instead of the black and white in the anime. Just letting you know to avoid confusion.

**Chapter Summary:** _The man stopped laughing. "We were doomed from the beginning. I'm just making the best of a bad situation." He looked down at the figure held in his arms. His voice was a parody of concern. "Miko, don't cry. It won't be long."_

Chapter Ten:  
_Ravenous Amidst_

"It's her, isn't it?" Akito murmured. He sat slumped in his chair, his head resting on his folded arms on the top of the desk. His eyes were closed, but he could sense the other presences in the room around him, the one who restlessly moved, and the other who was unnaturally motionless.

"It is her," an authoritative male voice agreed, the body it belonged to moving slightly closer to him. "Do you know what this means?"

"It means we're done," Akito breathed, relief oozing from every corner of his being, filling him with a foreign sensation of hope. The destiny of the world was finally falling into place, everything as he needed it to be.

"Hardly. We're just getting started," the masculine voice scoffed. "It means this is the beginning of the end, that's all."

"And the other?" Akito questioned.

A smile entered the voice. "She's still."

The pacing girl, the Slayer Scarlett, spoke rapidly in fluent Japanese that made the fact she had been born and raised in America seem impossible. "What makes you think that?" she questioned loudly, destroying the mood of calm that permeated the room. "She was out and about a few hours ago. I saw her skulking around the grounds."

"Trust me," the other voice spoke persuasively. "She is witnessing the beginning."

"That wasn't really the beginning," Akito observed.

A shrug accompanied the rolling of eyes. "It's a beginning."

"A 'beginning of the end?'" Scarlett said derisively. "Come on, you're both saying 'beginning' too much. You know, I really have no idea what's going on here. You guys aren't telling me anything! I'm getting fed up with it!"

"You'll get what you want, Scarlett, in time," Akito said, opening an eye to glance at the pouting girl. "Patience. We have to move slowly, or we might--"

"Mess up?" Scarlett supplied snidely, settling back on her heels. "Is that possible? A second ago you were acting like it's set in stone."

The powerful voice interjected. "There's been some outside interference. The other girl, she isn't supposed to be here."

"Who was it that interfered?" Scarlett asked.

A pause. "I don't know."

"She was the start of this opportunity, the trigger," Akito murmured thoughtfully. "She has a part to play in this, but I don't know what it is."

"She's the killer," the voice said certainly. "I know."

Akito lifted his head to watch the speaker. "How do you know?" he asked.

Another smile. It seemed impossible that the god was before him; he looked so unassuming, so normal. But it was _him_. He knew that.

"She destroyed the world," he said calmly. "You can see the blood on her hands."

Akito grinned. "She is the embodiment of destruction."

"Hey! Are you dissing Slayers? Because I gotta say, I'm not just some gal that goes out destroying things. Hell, I _saved_ the world," Scarlett argued, annoyed despite the fact that they weren't really discussing her at all.

"Buffy Summers is not your average Slayer," Akito said, ignoring the insult on Scarlett's face at being labeled "average". "She is much more than that."

"I agree," said the other voice. "Buffy Summers is an integral part of this."

Scarlett smiled, baring her teeth. "I guess it would be wrong of me to kill her, then," she said brightly, jealousy flashing in the depths of her narrowed eyes.

"I don't think you'll get that chance," the man smirked, his black hair blowing freely around his face as the window at his side flew open suddenly, wild wind picking up inside the room. Everything glowed bright blue for several moments before the ferocious winds calmed to a steady breeze. "She _might_ be important, but I don't care. She's of no use to us. She'll be dead before she even wakes up."

Akito stood and wandered through the thick descending silence to his window, staring up at the starless sky. Slowly, as he watched, dots of light began to appear, twinkling as their light struggled to shine through the cloudy, thick atmosphere. Soon the midnight landscape above was bursting with starlight as the gaseous objects spilled throughout the black.

Akito's smile widened, and he turned back to his companions. Scarlett's mouth was twisted in an impatient grimace, and she rolled her eyes at the look on Akito's face, turning her head away. The other looked back at Akito, expression gone from his youthful face.

Akito turned around to see the stars outside fade slowly and leave the sky an empty black.

"Do it again, Sasuke," Akito whispered, glancing back to see if he had been heard.

Sasuke smirked, an eyebrow raised slightly at the request. "Why not."

* * *

_Fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine_

The sheep that jumped the fence in her mind were not helping.

Buffy lay supine in her bed, sheets wrapped tightly around her body as she fervently tried both to sleep and to not care if she slept. The contradiction was an obvious impediment to her goal, which was, of course, slumber. She'd only managed to get a couple of hours of rest under her belt before waking up from a disturbing dream and getting hit with annoying insomnia.

_Eighty-two, eighty-three, eighty-four_

Why the hell is it so cold in here? Buffy wondered, trembling slightly underneath the thin sheets that offered little protection from the drafts circulating inside the room. She preferred heat; she was a California girl, after all. She was curious if Japan was always subject to such cold temperatures that it seeped through the walls to freeze everything, or if the climate had just changed after the hellmouth disaster.

_Ninety-nine, one hundred. Alright, let's start back at one._

It was ridiculous. She should have been exhausted. Two hours of sleep was never enough to get by on, even for someone super-human like her. Besides, the day had been trying and long, an emotional roller coaster. There was absolutely no reasonable explanation for her crisp alertness.

But there she was, counting goddamn sheep in her head and getting more awake with each passing second.

The darkness in her room was almost absolute. With the thick curtains hanging closed to block out the feeble moonlight, only the slightest of rays made it into the room. When she opened her eyes and allowed them to adjust to the lack of light, she was able to make out the basic shapes of the dresser, the closet, the door.

Then there was someone at the door.

She should have heard him come in.

The figure was at her bedside in an instant, close enough to touch before she could speak or move.

"Come on," a voice whispered urgently, and Buffy knew then who it was.

A hand came towards her, an offering. "Come on."

"What for?" Buffy asked Kyou, trying to pierce the darkness and see his face. Her efforts went unrewarded. Maybe it didn't matter.

"Shh. Let's go," Kyou said, his voice gently commanding. She couldn't detect anything hidden in his intonations, so she relented. Really, it wasn't like she foresaw sleep in her near future. Maybe walking around would help her get tired.

Ignoring his hand, Buffy pushed her sheets back and sat up. She realized that she couldn't exactly go traipsing around in just her over-sized t-shirt, so she said, "I need to put my pants on."

"I'll be outside. Hurry," Kyou replied, exiting the room swiftly.

As Buffy pulled the pants over her slim legs, she stopped to ponder what she was doing. Since when was Kyou "gentle" anything? What could he possibly want with her at-- she checked the clock-- three in the morning?

She guessed she would find out soon enough.

Kyou reached to take her hand again once she was out in the hall. She just stared at him as he tried to clasp her hand in his, giving him an incredulous look. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked, finally getting to see his face in the dimly lit hallway.

That was when she saw what a mess he was.

He noticed her surprise and ducked his head, turning away from her. "Come on," he mumbled. "It's this way."

Kyou was moving in the direction of the stairs. Buffy found her voice. "What happened to your face?" she asked, following him without protest.

"Nothing happened. Nothing," Kyou said quickly. "Hurry up. Come on."

"Those cuts just appeared by themselves? You should work on your lies, you know, try to make them even a little plausible," Buffy said sardonically. "Did you run into one of those famed demons running around?"

"Yeah, that's what it was," Kyou said, his voice empty of emotion, empty of anything. "A demon."

"Did you kill it?" Buffy asked, as it was the next logical question in her head.

Kyou, for whatever reason, hesitated before answering her. "No."

"Well, it didn't kill you, so I guess that's all that matters," Buffy said brightly. She quickened her steps to keep up with him. "Why are you walking so fast?"

"There isn't a lot of time," Kyou replied. "You should take my hand. It'll be easier."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I can fit the state of Texas through the holes in that 'logic'," she said. "If anything, holding hands would just slow us down. Have you forgotten my penchant for knocking you on your ass?"

Kyou raced down the stairs, two at a time, not looking back to see if she followed. He must have assumed, which was pretty presumptuous of him. "I forget sometimes," he said.

"Alright," Buffy muttered, figuring that conversation wasn't on the menu tonight. Following Kyou like a faithful puppy was the only option she had in regards to the boy.

He stopped at the foot of the stairs, turning his head to watch her descent. "Your hair," he said.

Buffy paused in mid-step, hand moving instinctively to her locks. "What about my hair?" she asked warily, weaving her fingers through the strands, which felt oddly rough instead of their usual silky smooth.

Kyou's eyes were dark. "Nothing. Come on," he said, once again _did he never learn?_ holding out his hand to her.

She made a conscious effort not to take his hand, to walk past him and turn around, glowering impatiently. Yet, the next thing she knew, her hand was in his, and they were outside.

Buffy blinked. "What did you do?" she asked, her voice shaking as she shivered from the bitter cold wind.

"I told you it would be easier," Kyou replied, uncharacteristically solemn. He was still looking at her, eyes shifting continuously from her hair to her face. The scrutiny was not helping her confusion.

"Okay, whatever this is, stop it," Buffy said, trying to steady her voice. She forced herself to be stern, even though the crushing sense of "what the hell?" was toying with her mind and making her feel almost helpless. She tried to pull her hand free, but either Kyou had acquired demon-like strength, or she was trapped in a stupid dream and not realizing it.

Because there was no way Kyou could hold on to her if she didn't want him to.

"Is this a dream?" she asked Kyou, flat out.

He was always watching her. "What do you think?"

"Well, yeah," Buffy replied. "I mean, for one, _you_, big jerky Souma guy, are holding my hand and looking at me like, like I don't know, you like me or something. And another thing, you've got this wicked grip on my hand so that I can't pull free, which is pretty much a dead giveaway that _something_ weird is going on." She looked up at the boy's bruised face, sudden comprehension lifting the veil. "Oh my God. This isn't a dream. You got vamped."

Kyou's face was dull. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, how else could you have this unbreakable grip on my--" Buffy looked down to see that Kyou was no longer touching her. "--hand," she finished lamely.

"I just needed to get you here, Buffy," Kyou said. "That's all."

Buffy lifted her hand to her forehead and gave him an exaggerated salute. "Whatever you say, dream Kyou."

_I should have known before. There's no way Kyou would've been so nice in real life. I must have just passed out after the first few sheep and not realized it._

An odd smile touched Kyou's lips. "You wish it was a dream," he said in a strained voice, laughing shortly. "Don't you? You could wake up and everything would be over?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "When did you become Mr. Philosophical? Are you the voice of mystical reason in this dream? I gotta say, they could've picked a better guide."

"You know why I'm here," Kyou said seriously.

"You know what you need to know," Buffy said mockingly. "Isn't that just a way of saying _you_ don't know what the hell's going on yourself? No, I don't know why you're in my dream, or why you're acting all freaky. Dreams don't make sense."

Kyou looked almost regretful. "This isn't a dream, Buffy. You know that."

"Of course it is!" Buffy exclaimed. "I mean, what's the alternative? I've slipped into another weird dimension? Everyone's under the influence of some stupid spell? Those are about as probable as your 'nothing happened' explanation for your banged-up face!"

"Buffy," Kyou said, losing his patience. He gestured at the sky. "Just look, for God's sake."

Buffy stopped her bitching and followed the direction of his arm with her eyes, realizing with a start that their empty sky was no longer so void.

Right above their heads were a million twinkling lights.

"The stars," Buffy murmured, awed. She might have fallen to her knees had Kyou not been there, as it was, she just stared, disbelieving. It was so...

"Beautiful," Kyou said, finishing her unspoken thought.

"I wish it'd be like this when I wake up," Buffy said sadly, remembrances of reality tainting her joy at seeing the familiar lights in the night sky. "I'd just stay out here and look at them. I'd stay till the sun came up."

Kyou's voice was also tinted with sorrow. "I remember how you looked in the sun," he said.

Buffy stopped ogling the stars long enough to stare at the boy next to her. "What?"

"The sun was orange. It was sunset," Kyou said, not sounding like himself at all. His voice had a faraway quality to it. "It wasn't supposed to be sunset that early. I remember that. When we had the..." he faltered, eyes gazing off into the distance at things beyond Buffy's sight. "Then everything was bright, like day. But I always remember you in the orange sun."

"Orange like your hair?" Buffy asked, unsure how the question popped out of her mouth. She hadn't thought such a thing.

Kyou smiled, still sad. "I always hated my hair. Everyone made fun of it. It made me hate the color orange." He stared at her then, and his eyes were unreadable. "When the color was everywhere around us, everywhere around you, I... I didn't."

"What are you saying?" Buffy asked, shaking herself out of her slight daze. "Kyou? You're acting really odd. Like, 'Twilight Zone' odd. Did you suffer brain damage from your little demon encounter?" Despite the light tone to her question, she waited for a serious answer.

"Come on. We've wasted too much time." Kyou pointed up again. "Look closer. Those aren't stars."

Buffy tilted her head back and gasped, realizing he was right. "W-what the hell is that?" she asked, seeing dark outlines of tall structures floating high above. "A floating city?"

Kyou grasped her arm and tugged, hard. "You'll see," he muttered, once again using strength that should have been beyond him to drag her forward. She resisted but was unable to break free. She opened her mouth to protest, but shut it when the world dissolved around her.

She was in a brightly lit hall. All around her, robed people were wandering about, drifting across the slick wooden floor like ghosts. Assorted furniture was scattered around the expansive room, mostly couches and empty tables, everything looking sleek and modern.

Kyou was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, that's how dreams go, I guess," Buffy muttered. Disquiet remained with her, however. Such lifelike dreams were not uncommon to her, the Slayer, but those were always prophetic. Somehow, she doubted a dream where she visited a flying city would ever come to pass.

Though, what with the recent dimension hopping, she guessed nothing was out of the realm of possibility.

Buffy approached the first person she saw, a tall blonde woman with regal, pinched features. "Excuse me. Where is this?" she asked.

The woman looked at her as though she were vermin. "I don't talk to people of your status," she said in a cool voice. "Begone now."

"Excuse me," Buffy said sarcastically. "I didn't realize you had a stick up your ass."

The woman's face turned an ugly red. "Well, I never!" she exclaimed.

"Oh! Then congratulations. You're no longer an 'I've been burned!' virgin," Buffy said, smiling rudely. She swiftly moved past the huffing woman and walked up to a blond man. He looked oddly the same as the previous woman, but she tried anyway. "Hi, excuse me. Can you tell me where this is?"

"This is the home of the Juunishi," the man replied, his tone cool but not entirely unfriendly. Buffy was relieved, but her confusion did not lessen.

_They're still speaking Japanese_, she thought, noticing the man's lips didn't match the words she heard. Also, the word _Juunishi_ had slipped by untranslated.

"Oh, okay," Buffy said. "It's the floating city place, right?"

"This is the home of the Juunishi," the man repeated, every syllable sounding the same as it had before. His expression remained flat. He could have been a robot.

"Yeah, already told me that. I just have a few more questions, if you could answer them," Buffy tried again.

He looked at her blankly for a few seconds. She saw it coming before he spoke. "This is the home of the Juunishi."

Buffy's smile was too wide to be sincere. She doubted Robo-Man would care. "Thanks. Right." She walked further into the room. Curiosity struck her, and she looked back at the wall to see if there was a door where she had originally been standing.

Nope. Nothing.

_The mystery deepens_ Buffy thought, glancing around at all of the sullen faces around her. She was wondering if they were all robots who repeated the same phrases when a familiar sullen face and shock of orange hair captured her attention. "Kyou!" she exclaimed, ignoring the looks of disgust thrown her way and rushing towards the boy across the room.

Kyou spoke quickly to a taller, brown-haired man before walking through a door to his left. He ignored, or perhaps didn't hear, Buffy calling out to him.

Buffy stopped in front of the brown-haired man, who looked down at her with a smile. It put her at ease, being the first friendly face she had seen there. "Hi. Was that Kyou?" she asked.

The man's eyes twinkled, but it was then that Buffy reversed her verdict. He didn't look too much older than herself, maybe in his mid-to-late twenties. His eyes were pretty blue, like a robin's egg. "That was Master Satoshi," he replied.

Buffy recalled the name and face; it was that boy she had seen in her weird vision-like experience earlier. That explained how he could be in her dream. "So, what is this place? I mean, besides the home of the Juunishi," she asked, steeling herself for another robotic, repeated response. She was pleasantly surprised when he let her down.

"But that's all it is," he said. "The Juunishi are the special ones, blessed with the powers of the Earth. This is their home, their sanctuary away from the others. How can you be here if you do not know that?"

Buffy shrugged. "I'd like to know that myself. I'm placing my bets on crazy dream action myself."

The smile widened, not unpleasantly. "Buffy, this isn't a dream."

Buffy's brows furrowed. "How'd you know my-- that my name is Buffy?"

"Because I know you. I know why you're here," he said. "Wouldn't you like to know that?"

"Well, yeah," Buffy admitted. She didn't know why she kept feeling so shocked about the weird things happening. Why did she have to keep reminding herself she was dreaming?

It felt so real.

An arm was offered to her. She took it without hesitation. The knowledge that she couldn't be hurt was guiding most of her actions, enabling her to trust more. "Who are you?" she asked, looking up at the tall man.

"I'm Halcyn," he said, chuckling. "But that doesn't matter."

"You know my name," Buffy argued.

"That's true," Halcyn said, leading Buffy through the same door Satoshi had disappeared through. Buffy looked down and started, seeing that he wore a beaded bracelet almost identical to Kyou's. The beads were red and black instead of Kyou's red and white.

"What's that?" she asked, reaching over to poke at his bracelet.

Halcyn drew his arm away, his face darkening. "The harbringer of destruction," he whispered.

She heard him clearly enough. "What?"

"It's nothing, just some fine beaded jewelry," Halcyn said smoothly. "Come on. Hurry."

Buffy did the opposite of what he asked, stopping in midstep. Kyou had repeated those same words, over and over. Were they supposed to mean something? "Why? Why the rush?" she asked.

"The course of destiny, the course of fate," Halcyn said, his voice taking on an edge that erased his youth, his innocence, and left him sounding old and weary, "is persistent. It does not like to be altered. Time cannot be wasted."

"Hey, this is my dream," Buffy protested. "Don't I get any say in the pacing?"

Halcyn looked at her with great disappointment. "It's a heavy burden you carry," he said sadly. "Perhaps you aren't strong enough."

Buffy placed her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "Some nerve! I'm plenty strong!"

"If you're strong, then go through the door," Halcyn said, gesturing to the open door which lay down the long hallway. The corridor itself was plain and stark white, just like the room outside. "Witness the beginning of everything, and pray that you don't see the end." His expression became blank as everyone else's she had seen. "That's all you can do."

"Okay," Buffy said breezily, making a show of skipping down the hall. She glanced back briefly to see if Halcyn watched her, but he was gone. The door she had entered through was gone as well. No big surprise there.

She was calmly walking when she felt an odd sensation, like one might feel descending in an elevator. It lasted only a few seconds, and the Buffy was facing a large steel door.

It swung open for her, beckoning her to enter.

_I've been waiting for you, killer._

Buffy was cautious while entering, looking around to make sure nothing sprung out at her from the dimly lit surroundings. The room was cavernous and expansive, its size hard to take in at once. She couldn't even see the far wall in the pathetic light.

Numerous yards away was the machine.

She thought it was a machine. It was as tall as the ceiling and wide, crafted with shiny material and endowed with sparkling... something. _Geez, this is ridiculous_ Buffy thought, walking forward to get a better look.

She wasn't alone.

"What do you mean, you aren't ready?" a voice boomed. As Buffy approached, she could make out the five figures near the machine, each looking like black blobs to her poor eyes. One figure towered over the rest, and she thought the voice came from it. Him.

His eyes caught her even in the dark. Bright, blood red, no pupils, no whites. The eyes of a demon.

"I don't care if you're ready! We're doing this now!" the man screamed. Another form cowered before him, dwarfed.

"Daddy," came a weak voice.

"Quit being such a bastard!" a voice Buffy recognized to be Satoshi's _so much like Kyou's_ exclaimed angrily. Buffy quickened her steps, not caring if they saw her or not. For their parts, they seemed too wrapped up in other matters to notice her.

"Shut up, you waste! You shouldn't even be here, why are you here?" the demon-man demanded, sounding less human with every breath. Buffy was close enough to see him turn to one of the other figures, one taller than himself. "Halcyn, why is he here?"

_Halcyn!_ Buffy thought, surprised. _How did he get here before me?_

"I thought you would want your son to be present, my Lord," Halcyn replied calmly. "Was that wrong?"

"I don't give a damn where he is," the man sneered. "Just stay out of my way, boy."

"Daddy," the quiet voice said again, ringing familiar in Buffy's ears. _Is that...?_

It sounded like Tohru.

"Daddy, the Earth, it's... I can feel it." The kneeling figure reached out to touch the demonic man. "We have to stop."

"The Earth, who cares about the Earth?" he replied, laughing maliciously. The machine, which had thus far emitted a low humming noise, began to whirr loudly, glowing a bright silver color. "It's too late to stop now. He's going to wake up."

"Malice," Halcyn breathed. Buffy thought it was him. She couldn't be sure.

"I won't let you do this, you sick fuck!" Satoshi shouted. He moved suddenly, leaping towards the machine. Yellow sparks began to fly around Satoshi's body. Buffy couldn't be sure, but she thought he had stabbed something into the machine.

"You fool! You think that will do anything? I anticipated your interference, all of you. I'm not an idiot. The Harvester means nothing to me at this point. Malice will awaken, and I will take his power. You will feel my wrath for your betrayal." The man was calm, waiting. "Nice try, though, really. Four stars."

He reached out and seized the trembling figure's arm. "Come, my dear. We have an important job to do."

"You can't take her!" Satoshi yelled. A bright green light seemed to burst from his being, shining like an aura around him and illuminating him in front of Buffy's eyes. His face was a mask of concentration, eyes trained on the demonic man. "You won't."

"Can you feel it yet?" The man replied, chuckling. "You're right there, where he's going to come. You have to feel him."

"I don't feel anything," Satoshi spat bitterly, "except hate. You're dooming all life on this planet."

The man stopped laughing. "We were doomed from the beginning. I'm just making the best of a bad situation." He looked down at the figure held in his arms. His voice was a parody of concern. "Miko, don't cry. It won't be long."

"Daddy," the girl whispered.

Buffy saw her long hair, hanging down.

"Yes, Miko?" the man said.

"I'm sorry..."

Buffy saw her bring her wrist up and press it flush against her father's forehead.

The man screamed in agony. Lights burst from everywhere. An unearthly howl sprang up from the earth as it began to crack underneath the machine, forming a gigantic grave for the destroyed contraption. Satoshi leapt back away from the hole, landing on his rear end next to the figure that had stood silently for the whole exchange. Halcyn moved back also, not in any particular rush to get away from the rapidly expanding pit. Buffy had to shield her eyes from the blinding lights even as the noises escalated into bone-chilling screeches that nothing human, animal, or demon could have made. The ground was trembling violently, and with nothing to lean against for support, Buffy fell to her knees.

_It's time to go now, Buffy. There's nothing more to be done here._

Buffy felt herself being yanked upwards, her heart dipping in her chest as terror choked her. She could still sense the blinding lights around her, but they were fading, slowly, leaving her with nothing but darkness to contemplate.

_I hope I see you again, someday._

The light receded completely, and the noises stopped.

_Remember me._

Buffy opened her eyes.

She was back outside, kneeling on the hard ground. Deja vu struck her; she was in exactly the same position she had been in earlier, after her first vision of Satoshi and Summer. She got to her feet shakily, nausea falling over her in waves. The unearthly screaming plagued her memory.

"Hey," came Kyou's voice from behind her. "Don't I know you?"

Buffy whirled around and gasped. "Kyou! Your face!"

"Huh?" Kyou reached up and ran his hands over his smooth, unblemished cheeks. "What about it?"

"What happened to your bruises, your cuts?" Buffy asked. "You were torn up!"

Kyou's expression was flat. "I don't think so," he said. He peered at her. "How did you know my name?"

Buffy frowned. "That's not funny."

"You're American," Kyou said. He wrinkled his nose. "Are you even speaking Japanese? I mean, I hear you, but your lips don't match your words. What the hell?"

His perceptiveness gave Buffy enough reason to pause. None of the other Soumas had ever picked up on that fact, or at least they hadn't mentioned it to her if they had. Then again, they were so self-involved it wasn't that much of a shock. "I'm speaking English," she said. "But you'll hear me in Japanese. The opposite goes for me hearing you."

Kyou looked puzzled, then rolled his eyes. "Whatever. It's just a dream anyway. Who are you?"

"Buffy. I'm... Buffy. You don't remember?" Buffy asked, wondering at this new turn of events.

"I have no idea who you are. I don't know any Americans, certainly not anyone named Buffy," Kyou said impatiently. "Are you here to help me?"

"Help you?"

"I'm looking for--" Kyou trailed off, looking upset. "Dammit, I forgot again! Why does that keep happening?"

Buffy was still confused by Kyou's amnesia, as well as his magically fixed injuries. Where did her unconscious come up with this stuff? "You don't know who I am?" she pressed.

"I told you, no! Now shut up, I have to think!" Kyou's eyebrows drew down in a frustrated growl. "Shit! What was I here for?"

"I was wondering the same thing," Buffy muttered, looking around in the starless night. The city above her head had vanished, as had the Souma house behind her. She was in the middle of nowhere, again.

"Hey," Kyou said, his voice friendlier than before. "Why are you here?"

Buffy shrugged. "I'm as lost as you are."

"I remember talking to Shigure, and then I went to my room," Kyou murmured, his words barely reaching Buffy's ears. "I lay down and closed my eyes, thinking about..." His face grew alive with emotion. "Tohru."

That caught Buffy's attention. "Tohru?"

"She's gone. She just disappeared," Kyou said, panic twisting his face. "Shit, I have to find her!"

"Tohru's back at the house, sleeping," Buffy said. "I'd know, I tucked her in."

Kyou looked at her like she was a pile of money. "What? You know where she is?"

Buffy nodded slowly. "Yeah. She's back at Shigure's house."

"But where was she?" Kyou asked. "Where did she go?"

Something was troubling Buffy about the conversation. Too many things were out of place. Kyou's face, his forgetfulness, his questions, hell, even his demeanor. None of it matched the Kyou Souma she'd become acquainted with. It was like he had split personalities, and another had come out to play. But that didn't explain the healed cuts.

"Kyou," she started, not sure why she was asking her next question, "How do you know Tohru?"

Kyou's guard went up instantly. "What? That's none of your business."

"I need to know, okay? I'm not asking for your bank code, for God's sake. Just tell me where you know Tohru from."

Kyou took a deep breath, setting his mouth in an unhappy scowl. "Fine. Okay. She lives at the house with me, Yuki, and Shigure. She cooks and cleans. She goes to school with us. She's..." he trailed off uneasily. "Is that enough?"

It was more than enough. Buffy could put two and two together.

_"They're not the same as my Soumas, but..."_

"You're Tohru's family," Buffy said tonelessly. "You're the Kyou from her world."

"Huh? Whaddya mean, 'her world'?"

Buffy sighed. There was little chance he would believe her, but she'd tell him the truth, anyway. It was all she could do. "Tohru and I both fell into these pools of water. This when when we were in our own dimensions, so that would mean Tohru was with you. When we fell, we blacked out and woke up in a parallel dimension that's different from the original. We're kind of stuck there until I can figure out a spell or something to get us home."

Kyou thought over her words for a few moments before replying, "I get it. You're nuts."

Sighing again, Buffy shrugged at him. "Believe what you want. I'm just telling how Tohru 'disappeared' into 'thin air'. You can try and look for her, but you won't find her. She's with me in the post-apocalyptic wasteland."

Kyou gave her a blank look. "Why? Why would Tohru skip dimensions just because she fell in a pool of water?"

"That's the million dollar question." Buffy glanced at Kyou from behind her eyebrows. "Another such question would be how you got in my dream."

Annoyed, he replied, "I'm the one who's dreaming here."

"Who says we can't both be dreaming?" Buffy asked, losing patience. "All I know is I've seen some crap here that even the National Enquirer wouldn't print! And now I've got some stranger who looks like Kyou telling me I'm insane. You know what? Maybe you're right."

Kyou didn't know what to do with her. "Hey..."

Buffy found herself inexplicably missing the other Kyou, the one who knew her and disliked her. At least with him she didn't feel so completely and utterly alone. "I wish I could wake up," she whispered without thinking, sinking to the ground beneath her, cushioned by the soft, wet grass covering everything.

_Grass..._

The revelation struck hard. The world was green.

Surprise colored Buffy's features pink. She looked up at the sky expecting to see nothing only to find a billion twinkling stars shining steadily. The world around her had changed, had awakened, and she hadn't even realized it. "The world..." she muttered. "It's alive."

Kyou still looked nervous. "Yeah?"

Buffy smiled at him, standing as swiftly as she'd sat. He smiled back, hesitantly, holding himself at a distance from her. "You don't understand," she said. "The place Tohru and I got sent to, there's no color. There's no grass, no stars. It's a dead world." Her spirits fell. "It's what I have to wake up to."

_And just a few seconds ago, I was dying to wake._

"So Tohru's really in this _dead_ place?" Kyou asked.

Buffy nodded. "It sounds crazy, but yeah."

"You're asking me to put a lot of faith in you," Kyou said seriously. "For all I know, this is just some nonsense dream, and everything you're saying is BS."

"She really misses you," Buffy said quietly. "She keeps telling me that you're her family. And she loves you." She met his wide-eyed stare. "And she misses you."

Kyou was clearly at a loss for words. Buffy grinned. "If it's okay with you, I'll just tell her you miss her, too."

Nodding slowly, Kyou agreed. "Are you going to... find a way back?" he asked finally.

"I'm trying," Buffy said. "It's hard. Nobody there is familiar with magic."

Kyou snorted. "I don't know why I'm surprised that magic exists. Hell, who would believe a person could be cursed to change into an animal when hugged? Same nonsense."

"Cursed?"

"Yeah. The Souma family curse. We each change into an animal of the Chinese Zodiac when we're hugged by a member of the opposite sex," Kyou explained. "I figured if you knew some other Kyou, you'd know about the curse."

"I didn't. I didn't know." Buffy was slow to understand. She knew about curses, a curse had given Angel his soul. Curses were bad things. "You change into an animal?"

Kyou scowled, the subject a sore one. "Yeah. A cat. No demonstrations."

"Come on, how else am I supposed to believe you?" Buffy asked.

"Hey, I'm believing you!" Kyou exclaimed, "And that's a lot of stretching."

Buffy found herself smiling at his protests. Despite his initial reservation, Kyou seemed to be warming up to her, having a connection through Tohru, a common ground. This Kyou didn't share the same coldness as his predecessor. Though not friendly by any means, he certainly wasn't as hard to talk with as a block of ice. He made Buffy feel...

_What is it?_

The nostalgia returned, the same as before.

_"Hey, don't I know you?"_

"I know you," she whispered.

Kyou blinked. "What? No," he said.

She shook her head at him, and reached over, grabbing his hand. "No," she said firmly, looking up into his startled eyes. "I _know_ you."

Kyou was unmoving. She was surprised he didn't pull away from her and make a smart-ass remark. It seemed to be the trend with Kyous. Then again, dreams were always different. "Buffy," he said, "I would remember you."

"No," she whispered. "No, you don't." Sadness hit her then, coming from nowhere to hammer at her. Her hand was wrapped tightly around his. He was probably starting to feel pain from it... she dropped his hand and backed up. "This isn't right."

Someone was calling her name.

"Buffy," Kyou started, moving towards her as she continued to pull away. "Where do you think you know me from?"

She tried to come out of her daze, but it was useless. Logic had no place in this situation, dream or no dream. "I don't know," she said quietly, mournfully. She didn't. She just got the feeling that he was someone, he had been someone...

_dear to me_.

"You're serious?" Kyou asked, his loud voice breaking the comforting silence of her numbness. "I mean, really? You and Tohru got sucked into some alternate dimension?"

"Yeah," Buffy said slowly, steeling herself. She nodded. "I already told you."

"I just want to be clear on this," Kyou replied, lifting his shoulders. "So what's the deal with this dream thing, then?"

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know."

"Hey, are you--"

_"Wake up, Buffy! Buffy!"_

"--alright?"

Buffy straightened, listening to the quiet whispers of the wind around her. "I have to go," she said woodenly. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. It was painful. "I'll tell her."

"What? Hey--"

_Buffy!_

When she opened her eyes next, she was on her back, in her bed, staring up at a dark ceiling.

Flickering shadows dripped like blood into her vision, almost blinding.

But she was finally awake.

* * *

He was there when she opened her eyes.

Haru had been sitting in the room for at least three hours, reading a book and glancing every so often at the sleeping girl on the bed. He had agreed to watch and alert the others if her condition changed, though Hatori had been doubtful it would. It wasn't like the girl had anything physically wrong with her, after all.

She just wouldn't wake up.

Tohru had offered to sit up with Buffy. Begged, even. But the girl had been obviously tired, having watched Buffy the previous few nights, and Shigure sent her to bed. It was presently a quarter past three in the morning, and Haru was wide awake.

Candlelight was hard to read by. It didn't matter. The novel he read was dull. He found it much more interesting to look at Buffy and ruminate over what little Kyou had told him of her.

He hadn't mentioned her beauty, but then, Kyou wasn't one to care about such things.

It was odd. Haru didn't usually find himself attracted to blondes, especially deeply tanned ones like the Slayer. His big fascination was with girls who wore their dark hair long in contrast with pale skin. The black, the white, appealed to him for obvious reasons.

There was something in Buffy's face, even in repose, that caught his attention and held it, forcing his eyes to trace the contours and sloping angles. She looked at once young and hard, an unusual combination.

She was a girl who had crosses to bear.

Yet she wasn't Sleeping Beauty. She wasn't a helpless maiden who waited for Prince Charming's kiss to break the spell. She was an army, not a damsel. Something else was at work, stopping her from returning to the world.

Haru had no idea what that _something_ could be, but he had a feeling Akito was involved.

The creepy man usually was in situations like these.

It surprised him when she awoke, staring blankly up at the ceiling. There was no warning, no safe transition between sleeping and wakefulness. She was just there, turning her head to look at him.

"Who are you?" she asked, voice scratchy with lack of moisture. Haru reached over to a carefully placed nightstand next to him and grasped his half-empty glass of water, holding it out to her.

"Drink some of this," he said, meeting her eyes. He couldn't tell what color they were, not in the shadowy light, but that didn't matter, either.

Buffy was suspicious of the glass, of him. She shook her head, pushing the sheets back and struggling to sit up. She was stiff from her multiple days of non-movement and found the simple task near impossible. "No," she said, clearing her throat painfully. "Tell me who you are, and why you're here."

"I'm Hatsuharu Souma. I'm here to watch over you," he replied.

"So you're not here to lead me to a floating city? That's a relief," Buffy quipped, sighing and flinging herself back down onto the bed. "God, I'm stiff. Hey, let me have some of that water." She turned on her side and took the glass from him, taking a long drink and draining the rest of the contents. She looked at him from over the top of the glass. "Souma?"

Haru nodded. "I'm a member of the family," he said, in case it wasn't clear.

"So you're a jerk?" Buffy asked. Quickly, she clarified, "That would follow the trend."

The urge to smile rose inside him softly but was ignored. "I don't think I'm a jerk," he replied, speaking solely for his White persona. He knew from experience that his Black self was a total bastard.

"Well, that's something," Buffy muttered. "Wait, I don't get this. Why are you here, watching me?"

"Hatori thought it wise in case your condition changed for the worse," Haru replied. "I'm a night person, so it wasn't a bother to me."

Buffy's face showed a range of varying emotions, confusion being the clearest. "But, I was just sleeping, right? I mean, I'm not sick? I didn't come down with some weird disease overnight?"

"No," Haru said, realizing that he would have to tell her the truth of the situation. He almost thought of calling Hatori, to let him break the news to the girl, but the look of panic on her face made some part of him want to erase it and quell her fears. The knowledge would be of some use to her, he knew, because the fear of the unknown was always worse than the alternative. Always.

Sometimes he lied to himself.

He took a deep breath. "Buffy, you've been asleep for four days," he said.

"No," Buffy said quickly, automatically. "No way. You're lying."

"You wouldn't wake up," Haru continued, ignoring her denial. "Hatori said he'd never seen anything like it. There was nothing physically wrong with you, but nothing we did could wake you up."

Buffy rolled her eyes and laughed shortly, disbelieving. "You expect me to buy this crap? Come on. I know I don't belong in this world, but I wasn't born yesterday. Just tell me the truth." She smiled. "You could tell me you came in here to admire my beauty, and I won't even punch you out."

Haru set his mouth in a humorless line. "This _is_ the truth," he said coolly, feeling the beginnings of annoyance. Mild disbelief was one matter, but total denial was frustrating. "Do you need me to get Tohru, Shigure, and Yuki in here to tell you the same?"

Buffy puffed up her chest, sitting up with difficulty. She was pouting, furrowing her eyebrows and looking for the most part like a child about to throw a tantrum. "How can it be like that?" she asked him. "How could I just sleep for four days without waking up?"

Shrugging, Haru replied, "I don't know. None of us could explain it."

Buffy's face settled into fear and bewilderment. "I don't understand," she muttered, leaning back against the wall, looking at him. "What does this mean?"

He couldn't answer her, so he said nothing. A question came to him, one that might be important. He fully planned on telling Hatori that Buffy was awake, but he felt there was unfinished business to tend to first. "Were you dreaming?"

Buffy looked startled. "Y-yeah. Yeah, I was."

Haru settled his steady gaze on her. "What was it?"

"What, my dreams? You want to know?"

"Yes. Do you remember?"

"Well, not really. I--" Buffy's eyes became distant, unfocused. Her hands went up to rest over her shoulders, placing her arms across her chest defensively. "I remember the city, but..." Her face was sheepish. "I don't know if I can tell you this."

Haru nodded. "Fair enough. I'm a stranger to you." He stood.

"No, that's not-- where are you going?" Buffy asked, slight tremors in her voice betraying her anxiety even as she tried to maintain a stable front.

"I need to tell Hatori that you're up. He told me to get him as soon as your condition changed," Haru replied.

"Are you going to come back?" Buffy asked quietly, staring down at the wrinkled sheets around her. "I mean, would you?"

Haru was surprised at her request. He was... they were strangers. All he knew of her came secondhand from Kyou, and knowing the cat's penchant for forming biased opinions, the information he had could very well be laced with inaccuracies. Given that Buffy already thought all Soumas were "jerks" by default, her appeal didn't make much sense.

Of course, looking at Buffy, it was obvious that something other than logic was dictating her actions at that moment.

"I could," he said noncommitally, meeting her eyes for a couple of seconds before shifting his stare towards the door. "Why?"

"I just don't want to... I'd like to talk," Buffy said, switching gears. She sat straighter, stretching her limbs out in front of her. "I'll tell you about my dream."

Haru was curious despite himself. He still felt it was an important issue that might have some bearing on the fact that she had slept for such a long period of time. Also, he had been telling the truth when he told her he needed little rest to function. Rarely did he get more than four hours of sleep at a time. It just wasn't something he needed.

_What does Buffy need?_

He couldn't find the answer by looking at her or mulling it over. He supposed if he stayed up with her after Hatori examined her and talked, he might find out.

"Okay," he said. "Let me get Hatori, and I'll be back."

He took a moment to ponder her before he left. Buffy didn't notice. She was too busy staring down, mind wandering to places he couldn't yet imagine.

Dark hair, streamers of twilight against a backdrop of gray, billowed in his mind, the image bringing forth a tidal wave of unwelcome memories to the forefront. Pale skin gleamed in the dwindling gold, flawless and smooth. He remembered the feel of it, the taste. She was always hard to forget.

The girl before him looked almost nothing like Rin Souma. She was short where Rin was tall, light where Rin was dark, dark where she was light. But the eyes, those eyes Haru couldn't fathom in the dark, glimmered with familiarity, even though he had never seen such vivid emotions shine in Rin's dark depths.

In some ways, Rin was stronger than Buffy appeared to be. In some ways, she wasn't.

_"I can't see you anymore, Haru. I just can't."_

_"Why not? Why are you doing this? This isn't how you feel."_

_"No, it isn't. I don't feel anything."_

Haru turned and walked out of the room, but in an instant, he had re-entered, taking in the girl's surprise for a slight moment before opening his mouth to speak, "Actually, I have things to do. I can't come back."

Brief disappointment darkened Buffy's face, but she nodded resolutely. "That's okay. Thanks anyway, for everything."

He shrugged and resumed his exit from the room.

He had nothing to feel sorry for.

_I won't make anymore mistakes._


	11. l

**NOTE:** I'm sorry for the long hiatus (you may need to review the lead-up to this chapter). If you're still with me, THANK YOU, really! If you're new to the story, disclaimers and such are at the top of the first chapter. Hope you all enjoy.

I changed this. Just a small thing, but it makes a difference in the next chapter.

Thanks to David for everything.  
--

Chapter Eleven

_I won't wake up_  
_even if the world falls to ruins_

Buffy awoke.

"Oh yeah, I really need this," she mumbled, rubbing at her eyes as she sat up in bed, looking around for any sign of life besides herself. Finding that even the barest hints of the candle and book Hatsuharu had been utilizing were gone, she sat up, ignoring the slight pounding in the back of her skull that accompanied the movement. Her hands gripped the sheets as she placed her feet on the floor, tightening on the thin cotton briefly before release. She was on her feet and out the door in seconds, seeing no reason to stay in the barren, empty chamber that enclosed her in paralyzing sleep without provocation.

She just wanted to be awake.

The hallway was wholly unfamiliar. Instead of the plain gateway with white-washed walls periodically spotted with mahogany doors, everything was black, colorless without a spot of light amongst the dark. Oddly, the void did nothing to hinder Buffy's ability of sight, and she peered through the black to see faint gray rectangular sections situated in places where the doors would have normally been.

Buffy, thinking all the while that things were rather curious, turned to look beside her, finding one of the openings.

_Hmm, well, I either go through the door into another dreamful house of horrors, or stand here and waste away. I guess this choice is easy,_ Buffy thought, turning and making her way through the gray into a brilliantly lit room of white.

"No fair, you got to be the princess last time! I want to be the princess!"

_It's sad that I'm used to scenes like this_, Buffy thought with an internal sigh, watching the ghostly visages before her frolic in an invisible scenery. There were three of them, all children, two girls and a boy who was standing off to the side, looking pensive in the flashes of clarity Buffy was granted before the distortion began flickering through him again. The girls were murkier, fuzzy like electronic noise. One of them appeared to have long, brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, and the other wore her black hair short, cut in a bob around her face.

The boy's hair was orange.

"Satoshi!"

**What?**

The simple spoken word startled Buffy. She recognized Kyou's voice, but without the layers of cynicism and dry detachment coursing through its tone, it almost seemed to come from a different person. She looked around for any sign of Kyou but found no one except the three ghosts in the room.

"Satoshi, tell her to let me be the princess!"

Satoshi turned to them, scowling. "Leave me out of this. I don't care which one of you is the princess."

The brown-haired girl sounded disappointed. "But Satoshi..."

Satoshi walked over swiftly and knelt next to the girls, who were sitting on their folded knees on the ground. "Play Rock-Paper-Scissors for it, okay? It doesn't matter. Whichever one of you isn't the princess gets to be the queen. It's practically the same thing."

"But I want to be married to you," the black-haired girl whined.

Buffy caught the look of surprise and apprehension on Satoshi's face before it was quickly replaced with annoyance. "It's just a game, okay? Figure this out or I'm not going to play at all."

The brown-haired girl smiled. "I'll be the queen. I wouldn't want to be married to my brother."

Satoshi shrugged. "Whatever. It's just pretend."

"Yay! My love!" The black-haired girl sprung to her feet and wrapped her arms around Satoshi, who looked over the small girl's shoulder at his sister for help.

His sister smiled.

_I love you, Satoshi._

**This is not a phase.**

Kyou had spoken again.

The three flickered more rapidly in and out of existence until they disappeared.

Sensing it was time to move on, Buffy turned and exited the room the way she had entered, only to find herself in another room instead of the dark hallway she had expected.

This room was light yellow everywhere, empty but instilled with a vague sense of habitance. Buffy walked further into the room until she was stopped by an invisible wall.

The room thundered with Kyou's angry voice.

**These are mine.**

**Don't touch them.**

**Stay away from me.**

**Get _out_ of here.**

**_DON'T LOOK AT ME!_**

"Do you want to go to the store with me, Kyou?" Tohru's voice rang out as her image phased into existence several feet away from Buffy, beyond the impenetrable wall. She was smiling, a simple apron tied around her waist and looped around her neck, hair pulled out of her face by a blue bandanna. She was staring off into the distance at something Buffy had yet to picture, the light weight of her question scarcely leaving a strain upon her face.

**She looked... happy.**

"What? Why do I have to go? Is this a trick?" Kyou's annoyed voice demanded loudly, emanating from the place Buffy's eyes couldn't penetrate.

"No, Kyou, I just thought you might like to get out of the house for awhile," Tohru responded cheerfully, Kyou's sour proclamations doing nothing to damper her mood. "Shigure asked me to go into town and get him some more drawing pencils."

"What!" It hadn't seemed possible, but Kyou's voice became more agitated. "Dammit, you tell that bastard to stop ordering you around like some kind of maid, okay? He can get his own damn pencils if he wants them so much!"

"I'm going to the store anyway to get groceries," Tohru replied with smile, her eyes never wavering from the distant place. "He asked politely if I'd make another stop. I don't mind, really."

**She could be so stupid.**

Tohru paused, but Kyou didn't say anything. "Do you want to come with me?"

"FINE!" Kyou shouted, sounding like he had just been talked into submission for hours rather than in a few seconds. "Let me put my jacket on. I'll meet you outside."

"Okay. Thanks, Kyou." Tohru untied the apron and lifted it over her head, folding it neatly and setting it aside, where it disappeared to Buffy's eyes. The girl walked away, fading as she went.

Another image came into view from where Kyou's voice had yelled. Tohru was walking, smile on her face identical to the one before, though it lifted and opened when she laughed. "You look so funny."

**But she was always there.**

"What?" Kyou demanded, still hidden from view.

"You must really think it's cold out here to wear such a heavy coat," Tohru said. Buffy noticed that the girl was wearing only a thin parka in addition to her earlier clothes but seemed unaffected by the "cold". Buffy herself felt nothing of hot or cold.

Just numb.

"It's freezing," Kyou said angrily. "How can you walk around in that?"

"I feel fine," Tohru said brightly, walking in place in Buffy's vision so that Kyou remained hidden behind her in the void. "Thanks again for coming with me. I might have a lot of things to carry."

"Don't mention it," Kyou said with a sigh, sounding defeated. "I didn't mean to sound upset."

Tohru l ughed again. "Kyou, I'm used to it. You don't live with someone for such a long time without learning almost everything about them."

**She didn't know.**

**I loved her.**

"Sure, whatever," Kyou muttered.

Tohru stopped and looked over her shoulder. "I hope it stays like this."

Kyou sounded surprised and annoyed. "What?"

"You know, after we finish high school. I hope we stay together somehow, like we promised."

**And I never wanted to break that.**

The next words Kyou spoke were laced with hidden sorrow and meaning. "I'm sure we will. Don't worry about it."

The images faded as they had before, leaving the room empty. Buffy took this as her cue to move along and did so, out of the yellow room into the next, surrounded by muted blue walls. In the center of the room was a young Kyou, seated in a simple wooden chair, staring down at the floor.

**Mommy.**

It was hard for Buffy to reconcile the echoing Kyou voice with the word it spoke. Kyou seemed like the last person in the world who would ever have referred to his mother in such a fashion, if at all. He acted so cold and closed, Buffy found it hard to believe he had ever been different.

Tears glistened in the child Kyou's eyes, dripping down his cheeks as he stared down at his hand, bracelet almost slipping off his tiny wrist.

**It was me, wasn't it?**

Buffy walked slowly forward, feeling an ache in her heart for the small child so obviously in pain in front of her. Not surprisingly, she ran into another invisible wall and silently cursed its presence, resting her hand against it as she watched Kyou's tears turn into reluctant sobs.

**I know you wanted me to be normal.**

"Mommy," young Kyou murmured through his tears, rubbing at his eyes furiously with his fists. "Are you really gone?"

"Kyou," Buffy said quietly, letting her hand slip down the barrier until it fell limply back to her side, forgotten. Her eyes couldn't seem to leave the little boy's pained face.

**I know you never loved me.**

Young Kyou rose to his feet, sniffling a few times as he moved unsteadily towards the far end of the room. He vanished from Buffy's gaze without another word, leaving the blue room barren except for the chair.

**But why did you have to hate me?**

Feeling heavier than she had when she had entered, Buffy exited into the next room, wondering when it was going to end. She felt like she was walking through a maze of memories, every step taking her further into the recesses of a vivid past. She didn't pretend to know if everything she was seeing was real or imagined as part of a crazy dream, but she couldn't begin to understand how her mind would make such a thing up.

_Floating cities, colored rooms, haunting images, what is this? The episode that made Twilight Zone jump the shark?_

The next room was a bright, angry red. The color pounded at Buffy's retinas, forcing her to squint against its intensity until her eyes adjusted accordingly. Immediately, the room darkened to a deep maroon, closer to blood, as rain began to fall everywhere around her. Like before, the phantom rain never touched her, splashing against the floor as an illusion.

**I never liked that weather.**

Buffy peered through the dark and saw Tohru, looking down and broken. Unfamiliar.

"You frighten me," she whispered before dissipating.

**Why couldn't you be different?**

Another being flashed to life, a tall woman with long hair and a blank face made up of shadows. "There now, Kyou, lift up your sleeve for Mommy. Oh, Kyou, don't be like that. Be a good boy, okay?"

The woman leaned closer to Buffy, though obviously not seeing her and instead whatever she was supposed to be looking at. "See, Kyou? I love you, very, very much. But you have to show me your bracelet when I ask you to, okay? Can you do that for Mommy?"

**I already showed you!**

"Vile, disgusting thing," a cool voice drawled, replacing the w man in an instant. Buffy recognized Akito, though dressed differently in a kimono tied at the waist. He held a fan in his left hand as he looked forward calmly. "I didn't think it was possible, but you've actually gotten uglier with age."

Akito smiled. "You smell worse, too. Less like rotting corpses and more like, well, death itself."

**Don't you see? I'm alive!**

"If you beat him, you'll be free," Akito said with a smirk, waving his fan beside his face so that his long hair moved with the breeze. "That sounds fair, doesn't it? The cat and the rat are fated enemies, with the rat being the victor. If you can change that, you can change your destiny."

Akito morphed into Yuki, the strange sight causing Buffy to take a step back. Her head was reeling from the violent splaying of images in the room. "Back for more, are you? You never learn, cat. One day, you'll have to accept the fact that you aren't as good as me."

**You don't know anything!**

Yuki smiled, the gesture frosty upon his lips. "Okay, if you must insist, then I'm not going to refuse. Let's get this farce over with."

Shigure appeared beside Yuki, looking tired and fed up. "Listen to me, Kyou. We're going to do everything we can to find Tohru. You know this. But screaming and thrashing about isn't going to make her suddenly appear out of thin air for you. All it's going to do is make things worse. For you, and for everyone around you."

Yuki rolled his eyes as he nodded his agreement. "Exactly. So can it, cat."

**Where is she?**

**How could she leave me?**

**I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!**

Feeling a smidgen of fear at the angry proclamations bounding off the walls around her, Buffy turned and went through the door without waiting for the ghostly images in the red room to cease their play. Even as Buffy crossed the threshold into the next room, she had a feeling it was to be the last.

_End of the line._

Everything was black, dark like the hallway had been except for a single spotlight illuminating the center of the room and the boy standing beneath it. He didn't look up and see her until she had entered the light, standing a few feet away from him.

"You again," Kyou said, looking every bit the same as he had in her earlier dream. Though she wasn't certain which Kyou she was speaking to (though this one's face was unblemished as the latter Kyou's had been), she felt some sense of relief that she was finally being acknowledged. It was hard to watch painful things and not be able to do anything to stop them. "What are you doing here?"

"Beats me," Buffy said with a helpless shrug. "I guess I must have fallen asleep again, which is possible suckage if they have trouble waking me up like before."

"Huh?" Kyou asked.

"Dreaming," Buffy said with a shrug. "At least I hope so. If not, reality's tripping on acid."

"So did you see everything?" Kyou asked.

"Hmm? Whaddya mean?"

"The rooms. Everything," Kyou said vaguely. "I've been waiting for you."

Buffy furrowed her brow. "But... just a second ago, you asked me why I was here. Now you're saying you know what I've been experiencing?"

"I know what you've seen," Kyou said. "I just don't know why you're here with me."

"Well, if I knew I'd tell you," Buffy said in her most helpful manner. "So what's the deal with the rooms, then, Mr. Knows-Everything?"

"Did you see me?" Kyou asked.

"Again, I have to ask, huh?" Buffy folded her arms across her chest, twisting her lips in a grimace. "Look, if want to know things, you have to be specific, because I can't read your mind."

"I didn't want anyone to know those things," Kyou said. "Not even Tohru. She can't know everything. Because then she might hate me, too."

Buffy lowered her eyes to stare at the plain floor. "I can't imagine Tohru hating anyone, Kyou."

"I killed her, you know?"

Buffy's eyes shot back up, wide with surprise. "What?"

"She saw me and, it killed her," Kyou said softly. "I hoped she'd never see, but she did. She did."

"Saw what?" Buffy asked. "I'm sorry, but I'm still on a completely different page. Maybe different book, different planet. What are you saying?"

Kyou met her gaze steadily. "Look again."

Kyou moved to stand at her side, and images appeared behind where he had been standing outside the spotlight in the black. Tohru was hunched over, hand covering her face, eyes wide between spread fingers. She closed them and leaned forward, falling onto her knees and shaking, wrapping her arms around herself. After trembling for a few moments, she went still, stood, and began to walk mechanically forward, into the blackness.

"What is this?" Buffy demanded.

"She saw me," Kyou replied steadily. "I killed her."

Buffy placed her hands on the sides of her head, rubbing at her pounding temples. She glanced sideways at Kyou. "Okay, pardon me for stating the obvious, but she's not dead."

Kyou shook his head, watching Tohru with melancholic eyes. "She is. I killed her."

Buffy turned back to look at Tohru, shuffling her way through the black, hair hanging wetly over her back and nearer to her face. _She certainly isn't looking her best_, Buffy conceded silently.

Kyou voice was almost too quiet to be heard, but Buffy picked up his words. "I'll kill you, too."

Buffy forced a chuckle, turning again to look at Kyou. "Sorry, I don't think so. I've heard the same words spoken from much bigger, scarier things than a normal guy."

Kyou met her gaze, face emotionless save for grim certainty that he had spoken the truth.

_"To kill this girl, you have to love her."_

"You can't stay here," Kyou said after a long moment of silence. "You have to keep going."

"Going? Where?" Buffy asked. "Who are you, anyway? What is this?"

"It won't matter in the end," Kyou said with a shrug. By the very fact of his uncharacteristic stoicism, Buffy was wagering that the Kyou next to her wasn't either of the Kyous she had met in her dream. He might have been a nonentity sent for the sole purpose of confusing her further. _And doing a pretty good job of it_, she thought.

"So where do I go?" she asked, relenting.

Kyou reached out and placed his hand on her cheek, closing his eyes.

Palm warm, fingers cold.

_"Home."_

* * *

Buffy awoke again.

Buffy was about to start clawing her hair out and cursing when she realized she wasn't alone in the room. Standing near the foot of the bed was a man she recognized from before, when she had met the first of the Soumas. It was the doctor, Hatori Souma.

"Don't move," Hatori told her quietly, meeting her cloudy gaze with steady green eyes. He moved stiffly to her side, leaning down and placing a cool hand against her forehead. "You're running a high fever, and you shouldn't put any more strain on yourself than necessary."

"But--" Buffy furrowed her brow in confusion, blinking up at the man as he straightened, turning and moving away from the bed to a desk near the door. His large hands began to shuffle through the papers scattered on top of it, his profile sharp and solemn. "But how did that happen?"

In the pause before his answer, Buffy took a moment to let out a held breath of apprehension. Everything was as normal as possible, she figured. She wasn't back in her home dimension, but she was awake, and Hatori was there as Hatsuharu had promised. She was no longer trapped in dream worlds that took her sanity and bent it into twisted mirrors reflecting nothing but confusion and hopelessness. Though the weight of still existing in a strange situation beyond her control was inside of her, she received small comfort from the fact that her nightmares were over. Any reality had to be better than staying lost in dreams.

Hatori pulled the chair out from under the desk and sat down, posture immaculate as he swiveled to look at her. His dark hair tumbled over his left eye, a staple Buffy vaguely recalled from her earlier encounters with him. The only thing missing was the cigarette between his lips that had never before been absent. _I must be really bad off if he's put away his smokes._ "This is most likely going to be hard for you to hear," he said calmly. "Do you think you can handle this?"

An uneasy feeling took root in Buffy's stomach, the beginnings of a full-fledged panic. Hatori's solemnity combined with his almost-cryptic ambiguity gave Buffy a second of pause before she foraged ahead, discarding her inner turmoil in favor of a quick shot to the finish. "Remember me? Slayer, takes the several, several million blows from the dark side come to vanquish the light? I think I can handle a little piece of news regarding my health."

"As a matter of fact, I don't," Hatori replied simply. "I don't know a single thing you told me just now. We honestly don't know where you came from."

Buffy blinked. "Wait, what? I know you don't... what are you talking about? Explain this to me like I'm a two-year-old, because that's kinda how I'm feeling right now."

Not batting an eye at her strangely worded request, Hatori nodded slightly. "You're on the property of the Souma family. It's about one o'clock on the afternoon. Hours ago, on his way to school, Hatsuharu found you lying unconscious next to the main entrance gates. He brought you to me for medical attention. I'm a doctor, my name is Hatori Souma. I put you in bed and ran simple diagnostic procedures, but with the exception of your high temperature, I didn't find anything physically wrong with you."

_Crap._

Buffy's relief proved to be fleeting, as everything she had felt upon waking and before seeing Hatori near her came crashing back against her, causing her heart to beat at a frantic pace in her chest, lightening her head and making her vision swim in and out of clarity. She struggled to sit up, and when Hatori stood and made his way to her, pressing his hand upon her shoulders to force her back into bed, she writhed against his insistence. "Stop it, I have to get out of here," she said furiously, prying at his hands roughly. "This is wrong. This is wrong!"

"Calm down before you hurt yourself," Hatori ordered in a cool voice. "We know as little as you do right now. We need you to get better before we can begin to sort everything out."

"Sort what? There's nothing of the sorting kind here, okay? You're supposed to know me! You're supposed to be figuring out why I was sleeping for so many days straight, not who I am or where I came from!" Buffy shoved with all her strength, pushing Hatori back several steps and making room for herself on the cold ground. When she realized she was wearing nothing more than a simple shift dress that barely covered the tops of her thighs, she let out a small yelp and grabbed the sheets behind her, wrapping them around herself. "Where did you put my clothes?"

"You didn't come here with any clothes. The dress you're wearing now belongs to one of the other Soumas who lives here, and it was the most readily available article of clothing I could find. Given the circumstances, it didn't seem as important as making sure you were okay," Hatori said, reaching out of taking hold of Buffy's free arm, the one that wasn't tightly clenching sheets. "You shouldn't be up and about until we get your fever down. That's my recommendation as your doctor."

"You aren't my doctor. My doctor's fifty and bathes in Old Spice. You're just some foreign stranger that's trying to put me back in bed so I can sleep for another hundred years. Enough is enough! I can't just lie there anymore doing nothing. I have to go home," Buffy said, moving away from the towering presence above her. She refused to meet the eyes she felt boring into her, staring instead at the crisp white cotton shirt covering the broad chest in front of her. She was doing her best to ignore the fact that he had told her (not in so many words) that he had seen her absolutely naked.

Hatori released her, stepping back. "I may not be your doctor, but I'm concerned about your welfare. If you are that reluctant to sleep, I could give you a medication to keep you awake. The important thing is not sleep but you taking it easy to give your body time to heal."

"It isn't my body that's the problem," Buffy muttered, sitting down on the edge of the bed and leaning forward. Her blond hair hung in thick waves next to her cheeks, strangely clean for her current state. "My problem is everything _besides_ that. I... I just want to be home. I'm sick of all this dimension-hopping and waking up not knowing where I am."

"Dimension-hopping?" Hatori echoed questioningly. "I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that."

"Me neither," Buffy said with a shrug. "I think it's just something to say when strange stuff keeps happening. All I know is this isn't home. It's a lot more Japanese than home."

"You aren't from...?"

"I'm from California, the U.S. of A.," Buffy replied succinctly. "This Japanese you hear coming from my mouth? Not real. It's just another part of the weirdness my life has somehow become. I mean, it was also weird before, but this just kinda takes the 'weird' cake and swallows it whole, you know?"

Hatori stared at her with his visible eye, appearing surprised. "You can understand me, but you don't speak Japanese?"

"Bingo. Yeah, it's just part of the neat little dimensional distortion package. I'm thinking and talking in English, but everyone seems to be able to understand what I'm saying." Buffy lifted her shoulders, her face heating up with a flush. "Ugh. It's so hot in here..."

The doctor in Hatori came back, changing his demeanor from surprise to stoic professionalism. "Lay down. I'll get you a caffeine pill so that you won't fall asleep, if you want one, that is."

Buffy followed his orders, giving a short nod. "No more sleep, please. I'm sick of waking up in weird places and not knowing a thing about where I am. I figure if I can stay awake, I can get back to where I'm supposed to be."

"America?" Hatori asked over his shoulder on his way out of the office.

"Yeah," Buffy said quietly. "With my family."

Hatori said nothing, exiting the office to get her medication.

Buffy sighed as she pressed the side of her head against the soft pillow. "Why is this happening?" she murmured, sliding her hand up to her face, digging her fingers into her eyes and watching bright lights swim in the blackness before her. "Why does everything keep making less sense?"

She was too worried about her situation to think about Tohru at all. The girl would flash briefly in her mind, but drifted away when far more intense emotions flared up, causing all of Buffy's attention to focus on the confusion, the annoyance, or the melancholy.

_I'm never going to find my way back, am I?_

_Are the guys thinking about me, looking for me? Do they even know I was taken into another world, or do they think I ran away again?_

_God, I miss them._

_How did I get here?_

_Where is here?_

_Oh my God._

_It's alive._

During her introspection, Buffy had glanced around the room, rolling onto her back to get a full view of her surroundings, when her eyes fell upon the window at her back and the scenery beyond.

Green.

Life.

Buffy sat up, ignoring the protesting creak of her joints at the monotonous action. Her fully widened eyes were locked on the swaying branches of the tree outside the window, bright sunlight glinting off the rubbery leaves and dazzling her with its unfamiliar intensity. Compared to the dull sun of the dead world, it was brilliance, otherworldly sunlight heralding a return of life to Earth.

Hatori came back to find the girl still staring, chest rising and falling heavily as her eyes drank in the sight, unwilling to waver for fear that the world would grow cold and decay while her gaze drifted elsewhere. He spoke to get her attention, holding a pill in one hand and a glass of water in the other. "I have the caffeine pill you requested," he said. "Is something the matter?"

Buffy turned to him, her eyes misty from swelling emotions and bright light. "Am I home?" she asked quietly, staring into his eye earnestly, unaware of the state of herself except the part that saw the man in the center of the room. She was still basking in the glow of an afternoon sun whose rays were unobstructed by clouds and shining with full intensity over everything.

"You aren't in California," Hatori replied, "so I don't think you are, no. What makes you ask that?"

"I just thought... never mind," Buffy said, her cheeks reddening further with embarrassment that was hopefully covered by her feverish flush. "So let's have at that water already."

Hatori handed her the pill and glass, watching as she placed it in her mouth and drowned it with several swallows of water. Buffy handed him the glass when it was empty and sighed, leaning back against the pillow. "So I'm just supposed to sit here until my fever goes away?"

"I think that would be best," Hatori said. "I'll be in and out of the office, but right now I have to check on Akito. He's... not well."

Buffy knew that telling Hatori she had already met all of the Soumas (albeit, different versions of them) would open up a large can of worms that would take a lot of explaining to close, and she didn't feel in the mood to undertake such a venture. She honestly wanted nothing more than to go outside and feel the sun on her face. Even if this world was an illusion, the product of another hallucinatory dream, she wanted to experience the bright sunlight of her life at least one time before she was dragged back to the post-apocalyptic world of death.

The world where Tohru was.

"Okay," Buffy said, keeping her thoughts to herself and nodding at Hatori. "Go do your things. I'll be here."

"Good," Hatori said, shutting the door behind him as he left the office with her empty glass.

Buffy moved the instant he was gone, pushing the sheets away from herself and heading for the window, kneeling on the bed and fiddling with the simple catch keeping it closed. She slid it open and relished her first few breaths of sunshine-soaked air. The breeze was sweet with the scent of cherry blossoms, but to Buffy's nose, it just smelled vividly alive. She closed her eyes for a brief moment against the bright light but smiled, continuing to breathe slowly through her nose. She'd never felt so appreciative of the world before.

The dead world and those on it became a distant memory in the face of the world teeming with life before her.

_This is the real world._

_This is where I belong._

The air must have made her drowsy. All of a sudden, it was a challenge to keep her eyes open.

Buffy swallowed thickly when the sleepiness hit her like a sledgehammer. An odd taste remained in her mouth, familiar somehow, an aftertaste from the medicine she'd swallowed. "That pill," she muttered. "What the f--"

She was out.

* * *

Hatori opened the door and poked his head inside, eyes sliding over the still form on the bed.

The drug had worked like a charm. The girl was asleep.

Hatori shut the door quietly and made his way to the couch, sitting down and taking a cigarette out of his front shirt pocket along with his lighter. He lit the end swiftly and brought the stick to his lips, inhaling deep and slow. The smoke filled his lungs and seemed to relax him, not that he was too bent out of shape to begin with. The day, with the exception of the strange girl in the next room, was just like any other.

Hatori leaned back and closed his eyes, placing the lighter on the table next to the couch. He wasn't sure exactly what he was going to do with the girl. She appeared to be delirious from her relatively high fever, talking about things like dimension-hopping like they were real and commonplace. He thought if perhaps he lowered her fever, her insane ramblings would dissipate into sensical words, but the girl seemed bound and determined to do everything but sleep.

Which was another odd thing.

_Why did she think I was supposed to know her?_

He wasn't sorry he had lied to her about the medication. Sometimes, sick people had trouble objectively doing what was best in the interest of their health.

The girl looked to be one of those.

Hatori's quiet musings were interrupted by the loud crack of the front door being harshly opened. He sat up and opened his eyes to see Kyou, backlit by the sun's fiery embers, breathing hard and looking upset.

"Kyou," Hatori started. "You're not--"

"I know I'm not allowed on the main Souma property!" Kyou shouted in response, stepping inside the small room and shutting the door angrily behind him. "I don't have time for these stupid rules, okay? I don't give a fucking damn, not right now. I've got to--"

Kyou stopped, and Hatori stood, looking down at the perturbed boy. "Yes?" he asked finally. He let Kyou's infraction on the family rules slide, not caring much that they had been broken. Akito was the one who demanded firm and direct adherence; the others were somewhat less concerned. Hatori figured if Kyou was upset enough to ignore the rules, he was there for a good reason.

"Did you need something?" Hatori prompted while Kyou stood, looking lost and angry.

"I don't... look, there was this... ugh, this is the dumbest thing ever!" Kyou raged, tightening his hands into fists and looking around as though for something to hit with them. "I don't even know why I thought this would be a good idea! What the hell was I thinking?"

Hatori sighed, sitting back down on the couch and watching Kyou wander aimlessly around the room. "I don't know," he responded coolly. He hoped the girl in the next room was out cold so that Kyou's loud vocal ranting wouldn't wake her up. "Did you need to tell me something?"

"It was this dream," Kyou muttered, staring at the floor solemnly for a moment before raising his head, fire returning to his face in an explosion of discontent. "And don't give me that damn look, okay? I know dreams are stupid and dumb, and I know they don't mean a damn thing!"

"If you think that, why are you here to tell me about a dream?" Hatori asked reasonably.

"Because!" Kyou retorted sharply.

Hatori had the odd feeling he had stepped back into his youth as he watched Kyou's failed, immature attempts at serious communication.Everything about the way the orange-haired boy was acting was off, and it didn't look like he knew how to fix it and do things right, either. Instead of calmly assessing the situation, he was getting angrier and taking it out on whomever happened to be nearby, even though that person was the one whose help he sought.

Not bothering to share his insights with Kyou, Hatori spoke instead, steadily, "Why don't you tell me what the dream was about and why it affected you so much?"

"It didn't affect me!" Kyou exclaimed, glaring at Hatori from across the room. "Did I ever say that it did? Did I say I cared at all?"

"It's implied by the fact that you're here," Hatori said.

"Argh! What the hell? I thought you wouldn't be a jerk about this!" Kyou said, shaking his head. "Why the hell else would I even be here?"

"I don't know exactly why you're here, Kyou. I'm guessing you want to tell me about a dream you had," Hatori said. "So please, take a seat and talk."

"You know, I don't believe in any of this dream reading shit, right? I wouldn't be here if this wasn't bothering me. I can't--" Kyou shook his head again, roughly, his hair tumbling into his face and blocking him from Hatori's sight. "I can't forget her," he mumbled, barely audible.

"Forget who?" Hatori asked, treading carefully. He didn't want Kyou to explode again, though it seemed inevitable with how shortly wired the boy was.

"What? N-nobody! Nothing. It wasn't anything, okay? It was just..." Kyou let out his held breath in a gigantic sigh, slumping against the far wall. "Shit. She said Tohru was..."

Hatori sat straighter at the mention of the missing girl. He had been trying to keep her out of his mind for the most part, because it was hard to focus on anything else when Tohru was there, mysteriously absent. He still felt guilty knowing he had been the last one to see her, the one who had left her alone. Maybe if he hadn't...

"Tohru was what?" Hatori asked mechanically, blinking as he stared at the wall next to Kyou.

Cloudy.

"Buffy," Kyou said, raising his head. "The girl's name was Buffy. Where the hell did my mind come up with that one?"

Hatori resisted the urge to stand and walk over to Kyou, shaking him to bring his focus back to Tohru. "You mentioned Tohru," he said firmly. "What about her?"

"That's just it!" Kyou exclaimed. "Buffy was there, and she started saying that she knew Tohru! She said that she and Tohru were stuck in this... this dead world. She said Tohru fell into a pool of water and woke up there, in that--" He met Hatori's wide gaze. "This is bullshit. This, it's got to be crap!"

_"I found her by the entrance. She was just lying there, unconscious, next to a pool of water."_

_"I'm sick of all this dimension-hopping and waking up not knowing where I am."_

"Why aren't you agreeing that this is bullshit? Come on, I'm waiting for you to agree with me that my dream was meaningless and stupid!" Kyou said, agitation rising swiftly. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Hatori shook his head. "I'm not sure what to say, Kyou. I'm still not clear on what you're trying to say. Why don't you start at the beginning of the dream?"

"I can't remember the whole thing!" Kyou exclaimed. "All I remember is Buffy. She was... blonde... weird... acted like she knew me from somewhere, and then she told me that Tohru was... with her in another place with other Soumas."

"Other Soumas?" Hatori asked, feeling swept up in Kyou's odd fantasy despite himself. "What do you mean?"

Kyou shrugged. "I don't remember. But she said she knew me, but it was some other me. Some other Kyou was with her in that place. And Tohru... damn it! This dream just won't leave my head! I know it's not possible that Tohru fell into a pool into another world, but I can't shake the feeling that it's the truth!"

Hatori's thoughts drifted to the girl in the next room who had been found near a pool of water just that morning by Hatsuharu. _There's no way she's involved in any of this,_ he thought. _My God, it's just a dream. How can I be seriously considering any of this?_

Kyou appeared to be struggling with the same issue. His skin was still flushed from his raging emotions, fists still straining with exertion. "And it can't be the truth! I know there's some strange shit in this world, I mean, we turn into fucking animals when we're hugged, but people don't just vanish! Tohru didn't just vanish!"

"Tohru is gone, Kyou, and we don't know where she is," Hatori said woodenly, continuing to stare blankly at the wall behind Kyou. "It's only natural that you dream about her and what might have happened to her. The unconscious mind can come up with fanciful scenarios that wouldn't even come into your consideration normally."

"It has to be more than that! That girl, everything she said, it's inside my head! It's screwing everything up, and I can't even think about anything else! I just... I just want her to--!"

Kyou's tirade was cut off by the sound of an opening door. The girl who was supposed to be sleeping for six more hours stepped into the room, sheets wrapped around her body in a makeshift dress. Angry light was glinting like the forethought of an inferno as she rested her eyes upon the seated doctor. "Guess what!" she said brightly, an undercurrent of deathly calm lacing the edge of her tone, "Slayers? Don't. Sedate. Well."

Kyou made a surprised noise from his position, eyes lock d on the girl in the doorway. His hands relaxed by his sides, his posture lifting into a full stand. His face was wiped of his many emotions, staying blank for a few seconds before comprehension dawned and drew his features into a knowing smile.

He snorted. "Well, fuck me."


	12. Harbors of Memory

**Disclaimer:** Still applies.  
**Thanks:** David, also to all reviewers before and since my hiatus for giving me inspiration and motivation. I appreciate your continued support for this story that I love.

**Gossamer Remembrance**  
_By, Heather B. Kytes_  
**Chapter Summary:** Buffy's hand reached out, trembling, to touch the surface of the water. She closed her eyes and caressed the liquid with the tips of her fingers, trying to feel something, anything, of the magic that had brought her out of her own world and into the crazy world of the Souma phantoms.

Chapter 12:  
_Harbors of Memory_

Buffy didn't even hear Kyou nor did she see him as she looked directly at him standing near the doorway. Her mind had clouded over, and she was existing in a place past the walls of the room, sensing that something important was just beyond her reach.

_Tohru._

The sheets Buffy had been clutching slipped from her grasp and spilled into a crushed puddle on the floor that she quickly stepped past. "Shut up," she said as Kyou started to yell, insane ramblings that hit her ears and made the walls shake with the force of his tone. She was already walking, ignoring the boy's agitated state until he made a move to stop her progress towards the door. She shoved at him, knocking him back with such force that he hit the opposing wall with a loud thunk. Curses started to spew from his mouth immediately after the rough impact which rendered him an immobile lump on the floor.

Buffy could feel Hatori stirring to action behind her, most likely to prevent her from exiting the room because he still thought she was sick. She hurried, her steps frenzied and uneven as she raced across the cobblestone ground in her bare feet. Every couple of steps, her soles would get stabbed particularly sharply by a stray rock out of place with the others, but she ignored the pain and kept going.

She fell beside the still pool of water, staring down at her reflection.

Tired, bleary eyes gazed back upon themselves even as she tried to look past them, into the other dimension where Tohru was trapped within the grasp of insane, sadistic men that could pretend to be her friends and end up killing her without so much as a split hair. The girl was so helpless.

Alone.

"This is empty," Buffy whispered, the words floating up to Hatori's ears where he stood over the girl, casting his own image in the pool behind hers.

"What?" Hatori asked quietly, the water catching the space behind his scattered hair and revealing his disfigurement to Buffy's unseeing eyes.

Buffy's hand reached out, trembling, to touch the surface of the water. She closed her eyes and caressed the liquid with the tips of her fingers, trying to feel something, _anything_, of the magic that had brought her out of her own world and into the crazy world of the Souma phantoms.

_Nothing._

"No," Buffy murmured when everything continued to feel real. She wanted to dissolve, if not falling back into her own familiar life then going back to where Tohru was so that she could protect the girl from those who could hurt her so easily. Not for Kyou, Hatori or the rest of her family, but for the girl herself.

_Because she's so sweet and nice. Because she's the only one who could talk to me about my mother and make me feel better, not worse._

Because I want to.

The fact that the sun was shining brightly upon the pool and casting blinding reflections of its rays into Hatori's gaze was not enough to deter him from looking into the watery depths, trying perhaps to see what Buffy had come to it for. On the surface, it was little more than a puddle of water, but maybe it was deeper than it at first seemed. Her hand was skimming the surface, stirring the liquid into little ripples that distorted and merged their reflections into nonsensical, blurry pictures, entwining and sharing their estrangement from the real world. Odd how he felt so close to her in the moment she was far away, lost in her own private realm behind the sanctuary of her closed eyes.

"What the hell was that all about?" Kyou's angry voice shouted from yards away as the boy hastily joined the two near the pool of water. "What kind of a lunatic are you to run off like that?"

Buffy's mouth twisted into a grim line. "I don't think I can go back there," she said softly, opening her eyes to gaze dully at the disturbed pool. She lifted her dripping hand and placed it against the fabric of her skirt, staring down as the thin material darkened from the water. She turned her head slowly and looked up to meet Hatori's steady stare. "Do you think that means that she's gone, or... am I?"

"Is this some kind of a fucking joke, because it's not funny!" Kyou exclaimed, shoving Hatori aside and grabbing Buffy by the shoulders. He lifted her up from her kneeling position on the ground, holding her at arms length as he shook her. She was too lost in the labyrinth of her thoughts and confusion to do little else but allow him to shake her so hard that her head lolled back and forth with the force of his effort. Her eyes were gazing into his sepia pools of recrimination and loathing, but she didn't see him at first, instead fading back to the moment she had locked eyes with other Kyou and realized that he was going to let an innocent woman die.

This Kyou's eyes were nothing like his.

"You explain to me why you were in my dreams spouting all that crap about Tohru and alternate dimensions or I swear I'll rip your fucking head off right now," Kyou spat angrily, shoving Buffy away as harshly as she had done to him earlier, watching as she crumpled like a paper doll on the hard, cracked earth. She looked at him with wide green eyes, light coming into their depths like she had just come out of a thick fog and was seeing him clearly for the first time.

"Get ready for this crazy idea: because that's the truth!" she shot back at him, scrambling to her feet and keeping distance between herself and the smoldering boy. "This pool right here is what Tohru fell into when she traveled to the other world with me. I don't know how it happened, or why it isn't working anymore, but that's it. That's all I can tell you about how she vanished. If you want more than that from me, I guess you'll have to 'rip my head off' because I can't tell you what I don't know."

"My God, Hatori, do you hear this shit?" Kyou said with a laugh of incredulity, focusing on Buffy with a hostile glower. "This bitch thinks she can come here, invade my dreams, fill our heads with lies, and she expects us to lap it up. You know what sounds more plausible to me? _You_ did something with Tohru, and now you're trying to cover your tracks."

"We have a new winner for Idiot of the Decade, Kyou Souma, ladies and gentlemen!" After several facetious claps, Buffy fixed Kyou with an angry look. "Get this, I'm the Slayer! Since you don't know what that means, I'll fill you in. I save people. I kill the things that want them dead so they can live."

Besides the anger, Buffy could feel a growing ache inside of her at Kyou's heated accusations, despite her efforts of trying to remind herself that he didn't know her well enough to say anything about her, negative or positive. And what did his opinion matter, anyway? Just because Tohru had talked about how sweet he actually was, how the small gestures he made meant so much because he was afraid to make the big ones-- Just because Tohru had filled her in on so much about him didn't mean Buffy knew him at all.

Or wanted to.

Kyou opened his mouth to continue screaming, but Buffy beat him to the punch. "Don't you even think about shouting more accusations at me about hurting Tohru. Why don't you stop and think how _stupid_ it is to even _insinuate_ such things? Why on Earth would I whisk Tohru off to kill her and then come back to you instead of running off to escape and never be caught? I'm not--!"

"_Then where is she_?" Kyou screamed in such a mournful, pained cry that it made Buffy freeze in her anger and look at him without prejudice for the first time upon meeting him. His was the face of a madman, absolutely desperate and at the end of the line. If she couldn't give him what he wanted, needed, he was just going to jump and get it over with.

"I told you," Buffy said softly, moving her gaze towards the ground. "She fell into another dimension. She doesn't know the way out, and I don't know the way back in." She walked hesitantly forward, approaching Kyou cautiously like he was a cornered animal. "But I know someone who might be able to find out."

Kyou's shoulders fell as he slumped forward, hair falling into his face and covering his eyes. "Who?" he asked in a voice devoid of hope.

"My Watcher, Giles. He's got tons of books on supernatural things. He's bound to have some information on these dimensional gateways. Maybe there's a--a key, a spell, or something else we can use to unlock one and get Tohru out. I know she wants to be back here with you guys where she's safe."

"Safe? What are you talking about? Why is she in danger there?" Kyou lifted his head and looked down at Buffy, fire blazing in his eyes that had nothing to do with rage. No, his mood had shifted into full-blown panic.

Buffy was in no mood to placate the boy. She spoke frankly. "It's a dangerous world over there. Demons running amok and such. She's taken refuge in the Souma estate with those other Soumas, but I'm not so sure they're good guys. Let's just say that the sooner I get back, the better."

"So... so get to a fucking phone-- call that Watcher guy!" Kyou exclaimed. "He can start looking for the information for us."

"Yeah, sounds like a great plan." Buffy turned to Hatori, who was standing as tall and silent as a stone gargoyle, watching the scene before him with detached calm. Her mind flashed back, thinking about the scar running across his eye. How deep did it run? It looked superficial, but the way he hid that entire part of his face behind a wall of hair spoke otherwise. It didn't look bad enough to warrant total obstruction. "Well?" she asked.

Hatori peered at her with a spark of curiosity on his face. "You want to use the phone in my office?"

"Yeah, if that's okay," Buffy said with a bit of trepidation. Hatori made quite the imposing figure just standing there, his thoughts and feelings so well hidden who even knew if he had any at all? "I mean, this is all part of the plan to get Tohru back home and hopefully me as well."

The stoic doctor appeared to understand, moving his head forward to give his consent. "I'll set up the call for you using our long distance service. Follow me." Stones crushed against each other as Hatori made his way back up the disheveled path to his office building. "Kyou, you should go back home before Akito finds out that you're here."

"What? Are you kidding me? Why on Earth would I leave you alone with her? The last time that happened, you apparently drugged her up so she'd sleep for the next thousand years! How are we going to get Tohru back with our link to her out of commission?" Kyou exclaimed, directing his frustration towards the doctor's back.

As Kyou ranted, Buffy hurried to catch up to Hatori, quickening her pace to match his long strides. When Kyou saw that Buffy didn't share his reservations about trusting the doctor, he began to follow them, scrambling over the gravely path with little care to the way the pointy rocks wreaked havoc on his sock-clad feet. "Wait up, dammit!"

Hatori let out a short sigh, opening the door to his office and quickly letting Buffy pass him inside, blocking the doorway with his large frame when Kyou made to follow. "The best thing you can do for Tohru is to let Buffy straighten things out. You'll get punished severely if Akito catches you here, and then what use will you be to her?" His eyes held quiet pity. "I'll call you after Buffy has contacted her friends and tell you everything that's happening. I promise."

Kyou appeared to debate furiously within himself for several moments, waging internal war with conflicting emotions. He ducked his head finally, admitting defeat. "Okay, whatever," he muttered. "If I don't hear from you by tonight, I'm coming back, Akito and his fucking threats be damned. Okay?"

"Of course," Hatori said, casting a final glance at the orange-haired boy before closing the door and making his way to the telephone, lifting the receiver and pressing a sequence of buttons. "Just punch in the number you want to call, and it should connect you in a few seconds. If you need anything else, I'll be out here." Buffy took the phone from the doctor and watched as he exited the small office, closing the door to give her privacy.

Buffy sighed, falling to the floor and looking at the gently lit buttons on the cordless receiver, forgetting Giles' number momentarily as she struggled to place herself back into reality. Slowly it came back to her, and she punched the numbers, waiting anxiously as the ringing sounded in her ears.

And it continued.

_Eight, nine, ten._

Giles' machine should have gotten it by now, Buffy thought, feeling mild concern as the rings neared the twenties. Finally she gave up, standing so she could place the receiver back into its cradle. She stared at the phone with mild annoyance before poking her head into the room where Hatori was sitting, reading a book. "Um, my Watcher didn't answer. I was thinking that I could call Xander or Willow and find out if they know where he is."

Hatori placed his book aside and joined her in the office, picking up the phone. Before he could dial, Buffy cleared her throat, remembering something she had meant to ask him much earlier. "Could you find me some different clothes? Preferably ones that cover all of the naughty bits?" she asked, feeling sheepish at having to make the reasonable request.

"Of course," Hatori replied, glancing at her before returning his gaze to the telephone, pressing the same noisy buttons as before. "Here," he said as he handed her the phone, retreating out the door with brisk strides. "I'll be back soon with some clothing."

"Thanks." _He must think I'm a flake_, Buffy figured, dialing Xander's number. He was more likely to be in than Willow, who could very well be at class instead of in the dorm room. Buffy hadn't even bothered to try and calculate the time difference and was relying on the hope that her friends were awake and available at the moment.

Buffy's heart skipped several beats when the distorted click sounded in her ear, letting her know that someone had picked up. "Hello?" Xander's cheerful voice sounded in her ear, wiping her soul clean of its worries and fears for one blessed moment and allowing her to revel in its familiarity. After countless days of being trapped in a world with strangers, she finally had something close to hold onto and remind her that she was not alone.

She found her voice and poured her relief into it. "Xander? Oh, thank God. You have no idea what it's like to hear you again."

"Rebecca? You sound weird," Xander replied, a muted cough following his words. "Yeesh, this cough is _still_ clinging to my lungs like so much Saran Wrap."

"No, it's Buffy. Maybe the connection is bad, I'm in Japan. Who's Rebecca?" Buffy demanded, her brows coming low over her eyes as a feeling of puzzlement came into her, planting the tiniest dent in her blanket of reprieve.

"Better question, who's Buffy? Look, I think you've got the wrong number. Could you be looking for Alexander White on Crestwood Avenue? I could find you the number in the phone book," Xander said helpfully, blissfully unaware of the effect his words were having on the girl at the other end of the connection.

Buffy felt her mind slipping into a gray place, full of the uncertainty and incredulity she had let fade away the instant she had first heard his greeting seconds ago. "No, Xander, you're the one I--Xander Harris, Alexander Lavelle Harris, that's you, isn't it?"

"Okay. Creepy," Xander said, taking a thoughtful pause after his final proclamation. "Look, I don't know who you are or how you knew my full, embarrassing name or what you want from me, but I don't know anyone named Buffy, and you sound like a stranger to me. I'm going to hang up the phone because this is a pretty scary wrong number, and if you call back, I'm going to call the police and hide in my basement under the covers. If you want my subsequent loss of male dignity on your head, then go ahead and call again. But please don't, for my manhood's sake."

Buffy let the sound of dead air linger next to her ear for awhile as she pondered the unexpected twists and turns of her short conversation with Xander. He didn't know me. The words were there inside her mind, but somehow she failed to understand the deeper meaning, the final conclusion that had to be made. _Simple_, she thought, _I'll try Willow instead_. She placed the receiver on the desk top and walked slowly to the door, a quick look inside the room showing her that Hatori had not yet returned with the promised clothing.

She leaned against the thin door frame, closing her eyes and letting her shoulders droop forward. _Xander didn't know me at all. How is that possible? It was the same Xander, I know it was. This has to be my world. I can't keep going in these endless circles, can I?_

Her thoughts were interrupted by Hatori's return. His face darkened at her posture as he moved forward to hand her the folded clothes. "What's wrong? Has something happened?"

"No. Xander just... wasn't home either," Buffy said quickly, wishing that she had better prepared herself for the lie. She took the clothing from Hatori, quickly shaking out the baggy green cargo pants and pulling them up over her bare legs. She cinched the large waist shut with the drawstring, tying a secure double knot as Hatori dialed the numbers to set up her long distance call. He was suspicious, probably, but he completed the procedure without probing further. Soon, she was alone again in the room, pulling the tight dress off and replacing it with the loose white t-shirt that had come along with the pants. Hidden between the folded pants and shirt was a pair of white socks tied together. She struggled to untie the knot while cradling the phone between her neck and shoulder.

The change into comfortable clothes relaxed Buffy, and she leaned back against the desk, taking the phone into her hands again after pulling the socks onto her feet, waiting for the prompt to enter Willow's number. When it came, she dialed the number to the dorm room she and Willow shared, waiting eagerly to hear her friend's distinctive voice.

"Hello?"

"Willow?" It didn't sound like Willow.

"Um, yes. Who is this?"

"Buffy. Buffy Summers."

"I'm sorry, I don't know any Buffy Summers."

No.

Buffy persisted, struggling to validate her existence in the eyes of her friend, herself. "Yes, yes you do. We went to Sunnydale High School together and share that room at Sunnydale U. Have you and Xander totally lost it? It's me, Buffy."

"But I don't know any--well, maybe..."

A pause, the moment where fate's threads stretched taut, shivering with unreleased tension.

"No. I'm sorry, I don't you, or any Buffys. I don't know what else to say."

Hope left.

Buffy laid the receiver carefully in the cradle, handling it gently as her hands shook. She stared at them, wondering who they belonged to and where her fabled strength had gone.

"You don't belong here."

When Buffy turned around slowly to see the source of the voice, the hateful words that nonetheless rang more true than anything else she had been told since she'd fallen into Wonderland, she saw Akito leaning heavily against the back wall, having entered without her notice. He was eerily similar to the Akito from the other dimension, though there was an important difference that her cloudy mind was refusing to acknowledge. She was left staring at him wordlessly.

"You don't belong anywhere."

Like a rock thrown at a mirror, a thousand reflections of the gravity of her situation, the words pierced her protective veil and displayed the horror of her new world, the void where her life should have been.

The answer came to her. _It had vanished_.

She reached behind blindly and gripped the edge of Hatori's desk, holding herself up. Unable to speak, but there was nothing to say.

Akito nodded, appearing to understand her perfectly without the bridge of communication. "We can talk here, or we can go to my quarters and do it there. Either way, I am going to tell you things that you don't want to hear--or believe. Are you ready to start understanding why this is happening to you?"

She found her voice, though it was no longer the voice of Buffy Summers. She might have made some witty remark before giving assent to the request, making light of the dire sitation.

Now, acceptance.

"Yes."  



	13. Collapse the Light Into Earth

**Disclaimer**: Still applies.  
**Notes**: Please check Chapter 1 for all pertinent information regarding this Act and the Acts to follow.  
**Thanks**: David, also to all readers and reviewers before and since my hiatus for giving me inspiration and motivation. I appreciate your continued support for this story that I love.

Gossamer Remembrance  
_By, Heather B. Kytes_  
**Chapter Summary**: _That means things are going according to plan-- but whose plan is this, anyway?_

Chapter Thirteen:  
**Collapse the Light Into Earth**

A soft thump accompanied the small, leather-bound book that fell from Akito's hands to rest on the table in front of Buffy. She glanced cautiously at the pale man who was already retreating to the entrance of his small office, coming to rest at the side of the quiet, taller man who had been standing against the wall from the time Buffy entered the room. "What's this?" she asked, hands carressing the well-worn edges of the tattered text. At first glance, it looked like one of the hundreds of old books Giles had kept detailing the different variations of demons she might encounter while wandering the Hellmouth, but she didn't think that Akito would have access to that sort of thing.

"It should answer a few of your questions," Akito replied vaguely, leaning heavily against the frame of the door. He didn't appear to have the strength to keep his head lifted so that he could meet her gaze, so his dark eyes were trained on the shiny, wood-paneled floor. An uncovered window carved into the far right corner gave the room its source of light, bright sun rays that fell in a direct beam across the top of Akito's bare desk. It was a far cry from Hatori's artificially lit office, which in many ways reminded Buffy of the sterilized whiteness of the hospitals she detested so much. She was relieved that she had decided to relocate in order to hear what Akito had to tell her about the impossible situation she was in.

Of course, now it seemed that Akito wasn't going to be doing any talking. Buffy grasped the book in her hands and held it close to her chest, shifting her weight so that her backside rested against the front of Akito's thick desk. "Why can't you just tell me what I need to know?"

Akito shook his head slightly, dark, unkempt strands of his hair shivering with the movement. He struggled to lift his head, knuckles visibly whitening as his grip on the door frame tightened to the point of pain. After several awkward moments where Buffy was unsure if she should be telling Akito to stop trying to move, he was looking at her with eyes swimming in death. If not for the constant muscle tremors underneath his skin, Buffy could have believed that he was a corpse somehow standing.

"I don't have the strength to tell you, I'm afraid. I need to go rest at the moment. Walking to Hatori's office to find you was more physically demanding than I thought it would be," Akito answered, letting go of the frame with his right hand and moving his iron grip to the tall, silent man's arm. Once he had a hold on the other man, he let his entire weight fall into him, though there was no indication that his weakness was a burden. "Read the journal. I think it will help you."

"I will. I'm just wondering--"

Buffy cut off as Akito inhaled and seemed to catch something in his lungs that caused them to spasm uncontrollably in a series of hacking coughs, horrible choking sounds of a failing body. The man at his side quickly sprang into action, lowering Akito to the floor and supporting him in a supine position as he struggled to get air into his lungs, ordering Buffy in a quietly powerful voice, "Go into the next room and bring the water pitcher on the third shelf of the bookcase."

"No," Akito rasped. After a few more agonizing coughs, he went still, drawing in a shuddering breath. He didn't seem to be able to move, so Buffy stood, poised for action, wondering if she should get the water despite Akito's protest. "Read."

"Okay," Buffy said, reluctantly moving to the other side of the desk and sitting in the padded leather chair. She watched the man lead Akito out of the room, practically carrying him like a groom would a bride over the threshold. It didn't take a genius to see how precariously close to death Akito was, and for an instant she worried that it was Tohru's total disappearance that had put him at Death's doorstep. In matters of Tohru and her family, Buffy couldn't help but feel wholly responsible.

She stared down at the book, tracing her index finger across the thick cover before lifting it back to look at the first page.

It was blank. Buffy flipped through the book quickly until she got to a page with ink markings covering it.

Japanese text.

_Great_, Buffy thought, realizing that Akito probably thought the language that had come to her mystically was her native tongue. She was about to stand and find the pale man and his companion before words formed inside her head, highlighted by a white glow in her imagination. _My final words, I wanted them to be for you_.

Buffy closed the book quickly, cradling her throbbing forehead in her cupped hands, feeling the warmth seeping into her chilly palms. Her eyes clenched shut, leaving her to the machinations of her mental landscape. _Did I really just read that_? she wondered. _Does this magic translation thing work for reading, too? This is either incredible or insanity_.

After spending a few more moments analyzing the situation, she realized that to actually figure out if she had read a foreign language, she would have to open the book and try again. Opening her eyes and sitting up straight in the chair, she lifted the cover and hurried through the empty pages until she settled her gaze on the strange text, seeing the familiar words from before.

_My final words, I wanted them to be for you.  
Even though there is nothing more to say.  
It is here._

Buffy furrowed her brow as nothing further came to her. How in the world did Akito think that this kind of cryptic writing would help her understand things? She turned the page, hoping things would become clear with more reading.

_Also, I need to find out some other things._

_Time had been altered.  
The curse is now as it always has been.  
Things are ancient as the threads of time begin to weave back upon each other.  
I'm too tired to continue.  
Rosa said she would do the rest._

Shifting her eyes to the page on the right, she realized her error. "Reading this backwards?" she wondered aloud, flipping the pages of the book until she got to the back cover, looking at the text filling the last yellowed page.

_I decided to keep records in the event that the world somehow makes it out of this fucking mess intact. Right now it seems doubtful, but I've decided not to give up. There must be some reason Miko sent me here to this time. I can't think it was destiny that caused me to meet Summer and Rosa, but since they're just the people I need, who knows?_

_I knew father would fuck things up. This badly, maybe not. Still, hope he's burning in hell._

_I want to find Miko._

_Okay, yeah, back to the matter at hand. At present, I'm teaching Summer how to use her chakra to power jutsu. It's not going so well, but I think she'll get it. She's trying hard, anyway. I think she knows that the fate of the world is at stake. She's probably used to it as the Slayer._

_Rosa is curious about the bracelet. I haven't told her about its abilities. Hope I don't have to._

_I think the Juunishi are all dead. I'm the last._

_Our civilization should have been glorious, but in retrospect, that's a joke. We threw ourselves into the sky and expected to live at odds with the world while using its power for our own gain. I'm surprised a big asteroid didn't ram into us and destroy everything._

_Or maybe it did._

_I'm too tired to think about Malas now._

_Writing sucks._

A small vertical line seemed to dictate the end of the first section. Buffy stared at the time-worn paper, furrowing her brow in concentration. Her senses had been dulled somewhat since the phone calls home that revealed her pending non-existance to those she loved, but her crushing confusion was drowning out the silence inside, reminding her that there were miles to go yet. _Is Japanese not only written right-to left, but up and down instead of sideways_? Buffy wondered, wishing she had studied Japanese in high school instead of French just for the sake of helping her out through this mess. She focused her eyes on the writing, darting her eyes in what she thought was the proper direction as she moved across the book's binding to the subsequent page.

_Summer is progressing well with ninjutsu. I've had her focus on ninjutsu and taijutsu in particular since the enemy will likely be immune to illusion and mind tricks. Who knows if it has a mind?_

_On the enemy, Malas:_

_A big disgusting parasite that lives in all dimensions. It can send its will to a particular moment, and then it is said to be an active infection. It has been ripening the Earth and using humanity as its latest conquest, but that's only for this dimension. Who knows where it is elsewhere? I just want to kill it when it wakes up here. Maybe then not only will we be saved but everyone else as well._

_I'm tired again. Summer actually hit me today._

_It was amazing to watch her, how fast she's become._

_I'll have to tell her soon._

Summer. Buffy pictured the girl from her odd vision back in the other world where she had passed her hands through the spectres of Summer and Satoshi like they were billowing fog. An odd coincidence if the text wasn't referring to the same girl, a Slayer named Summer. Everything else that she had seen in her numerous visions seemed to be pertinent information, so she figured this was no different.

_That means things are going according to plan-- but whose plan is this, anyway_?

She believed it had to be Satoshi's journal.

_The days are growing shorter and more precious. I can't tell Summer yet, and I probably won't be able to until we're about to fight. In the off chance that we get killed before an escape, I don't want her to go not knowing how I feel._

_Like the world's biggest wimp, but you don't ever ask to fall in love. Shit happens._

_But she's beautiful. I don't think I would ever get tired of looking at her._

_I hope we can win this._

_They must have been preparing to fight Malas when I saw them that time_, Buffy deduced, remembering the couples' talk of doom and death. The fact that she was in her current situation probably meant that they had not defeated him. She continued to read through the pages to find out if she was correct in her assumption.

_We failed._

_Our attempt to kill Malas was a total bust, and now I'm scrambling to think up a new plan of salvation. I'm looking at some of our old sealing spells._

_I hate that I can't go back to the Juunishi. I could not only get the complete records of this shit, I could see Miko again._

_Speaking of time travel, Rosa has inevitably discovered my bracelet's ability to do just that. I let her use it once, to demonstrate how it works. When she came back, she was shaken and refused to talk about it. At least now she won't bug me about it anymore._

_One seal ritual looks promising, but it's the most complicated out of the bunch I have access to. I'm having trouble translating all of the text. I just hope that it's all there. Knowing my luck, the very end will be gone._

_I'm happy though, despite all this utter crap. Summer told me that she loves me, too._

_If only her love could save us all._

_The seal will work._

It was beginning to read like a piece of fiction. Time travel? That should have been banned from everything except bad science fiction novels. Buffy couldn't accept it as a reality just because the book claimed it so. She placed her palms flat against the top of the desk, steadying herself as her head began to pound with incessant pain. Her vision blurred, writing on the pages running together into an inky river of incomprehension. She lowered her eyelids to guard her delicate pupils from the harsh sunlight, realizing that she was going to have to get used to the brightness of this place after the perpetual gloom of the other world. She had been so happy just to be back at first, she hadn't noticed the environment's immediate detrimental affect on her body.

_At least this pain is proof that I'm still alive._

Even though no one could remember her, she had the opportunity to change it with that.

She continued to read, eager to know how it had ended, forgetting that she had read the end in the beginning.

_I can barely move the pen across the page. Everything will be fine now. Rosa took my bracelet, claiming she's found a way in the future to make the seal on Malas permanent. I gave it to her gladly, happy to be rid of it. Now I have but a single burden to carry._

_My summer turned to ashes._

_The others of the cursed-- I've decided to call them the Juunishi-- are completely outraged. I won't have to do a single thing to foster their discontent. Subsequent generations, though, will need guidance. I'm writing those guidelines in the other book. This one has turned into a journal, anyway._

_I let her down in the end._

_The ritual didn't mention this weakness, but I should have expected it. Side effects always come from a big magic spell. The cat is another besides my fragile state._

_The cat was wearing a bracelet like mine. I checked it and found no time traveling power, though. When I took it from the boy's wrist, he changed. I couldn't tell you what it was. I can only guess that he's an entity borne from Malas, a protest at being prevented from awakening. I don't fucking know. When I put the bracelet back on the monster's hand, he turned human again, so maybe_

_Well, I ordered him to be isolated from the others. I can't have him causing trouble. I couldn't handle it like this._

_She looked at me with eyes full of love, without judgment._

_She didn't blame me for hiding it._

_Maybe I'm dying because I want to and not because of the ritual._

_It doesn't matter why._

_The Ritual of the Void  
Twelve sacrifices to compose the seal's edges, the spots which lock the seal in place. They suffer the eternal curse._

_One overseer to perform the ritual. His burden is to keep the twelve at odds throughout life to keep energy flow in all directions. He chooses a successor to carry on this task before he dies._

_One of power in the center whose energy is the catalyst of the curse. The seal closes at energy's end._

_((Resealing Techniques))  
Rosa said these will be unnecessary, but she is looking into alternatives just in case. I hope she's right, because I lost the information in that damn fire._

_I almost tried to leap into the flames._

_But I have to choose a replacement before that happens._

_Also, I need to find out some other things._

Everything fell into the wrong places as Buffy's memory clicked.

_Time had been altered.  
The curse is now as it always has been.  
Things are ancient as the threads of time begin to weave back upon each other.  
I'm too tired to continue.  
Rosa said she would do the rest._

_My final words, I wanted them to be for you.  
Even though there is nothing more to say.  
It is here._

A quiet chill began to snake its way through Buffy's veins, moving with icy precision towards her heart, which iced over and became numb once more as her mind furiously raced, struggling to put the journal's words into a coherent answer. Malas was obviously the link-- an entity that could extend its reach beyond dimensions could surely have affected her and Tohru and given them the same ability temporarily, but why? She had died in that other dimension, as had Tohru, but it had chugged along just fine without her presence thanks to Scarlett closing the Hellmouth. Things weren't perfect, but the world was far from over there.

But for Shigure's speech.

_"What do you plan to do to salvage the demonic wasteland that is the country of Japan? All of the major cities have been leveled. All you will find is ramshackle villages poised on top of what were some of the most prosperous cities in the world."_

But there were people. Wasn't that enough to ensure that civilization would prosper once again through the sheer stubborn will of the human race to rise above its beginnings and seek more for itself?

_"You could probably find some way to the mainland of Asia, or to the Americas... You won't find anything different in either place. The Hellmouths opened, and the demons came out. They destroyed every hallmark of human civilization they saw."_

Hell demons, the ones who summoned Malas in the first place according to the other world's Akito. Humanity had been targeted by two powerful enemies and seemingly overcome them both. So where did that leave her?

_"This is the aftermath of the apocalyse, Miss Summers. Humanity has been set back to the time before civilization even existed. We don't need a Slayer. We need a miracle."_

"With tons more questions and not enough answers," Buffy spoke aloud to herself, deciding _that_ was the ultimate result of reading Satoshi's journal. Shigure's persistent pessism notwithstanding, she couldn't let herself accept the dead world's defeat, or her own for that matter. Earlier, Tohru had been the one to believe in the inherent goodness of those she knew even as she faced their worst selves, the Soumas who had seen Hell and come back all the worse for it. Now it was Buffy's turn to extend such grace. She was going to make it back to that place and set things as right as they could possibly be by taking down Akito's tyrannical, sadistic rule.

_I have to get there first._

The magic that had taken hold of Tohru at the Souma residence and dropped her elsewhere had vanished. Buffy knew it with every hyperactive sense she possessed as the Slayer.

She would have to seek it out.

Buffy closed the journal, staring down at the beaten leather cover, its cracks and creases deepened with old age. Placing her hand firmly against it, she closed her eyes, thinking that Satoshi had once held this same book in his own hands, covered its pages with careful writing in the hopes that it would one day be found and read by someone who needed answers. He had not been forthcoming enough to give Buffy all the information she needed to fully understand her present circumstances, but he had given her something else she believed was more crucial than a rudimentary plan of action.

Fire.

Burning tongues of electric flame that engulfed her nerves, sent her neurological receptors into overdrive processing the furious desire to move forward and accomplish whatever goal next flashed into her mind. She quickly pulled her hand away from the book, knowing that it had served its purpose as far as she was concerned. She knew now that she was facing an ancient enemy that threatened to destroy the world she had been born to protect. More importantly, Satoshi's words had reminded her that she would always have a job to do as long as she was alive and kicking. She was Buffy, the vampire slayer.

A small smile twisted her chapped lips, sending dull pain shooting through her mouth that was quickly eclipsed by her rapid exit from the building. Akito and his caretaker were nowhere to be seen as she raced out the door, onto the twisting cobblestone path she hoped would lead to the world outside of the Souma Estate. She kept her movements light across the uneven stones, trying to avoid making as much noise as possible. She didn't need to be stopped by yet another nosy Souma wondering what she had done with Tohru, why she was there instead of the girl they knew. She saw the exit and grinned wider, eliciting more pain that was simply ignored, added to the aching inside her skull that had not dimished since it began in Akito's office.

The gate was tightly shut, heavy-looking wooden doors that blocked her quick escape. Buffy figured that forcing the doors open would make a lot of noise, if the act didn't set off alarms in the first place. She bent her knees, moving her center of gravity as low to the ground as possible to give herself the greatest height with her next manuever. Clenching her calf muscles, she leapt straight up at least ten feet in the air, reaching out with her arms to grip the top edge of the closest wooden door. She pushed herself over the top by pulling herself forward with her arms, bracing her legs for the rough landing on the hard packed dirt below. Her legs took the blow well, but her head felt like it was submerged in glacier water at the impact. Colors swam in front of her eyes as the pain came to the forefront of her attention, resulting in a blinding flash of white before her body collapsed on the ground, unmoving.

* * *

Tohru's face was held in her hands, the tips of her middle and ring fingers pressing into the corners of her open eyes. She was sitting cross-legged upon the center of the bed, sheets haphazardly strewn about her in every way except covering her. Her borrowed clothes hung from her thin frame at awkward angles, a large rip in the collar at its left-most point causing the shirt to droop over her shoulder revealingly. Her eyes were bloodshot, red veins throbbing throughtout the whites borne from lack of sleep and peace of mind. She didn't realize she was biting her lip until the familiar copper taste of her own blood mixed with the hint of peppermint still in her mouth from brushing her teeth earlier that morning.

The simple habitual act of hygeine had seemed like a dream of better days. She couldn't remember having moved from the spot on the bed.

She thought of Buffy, a mental picture of the small, strong blonde entering her mind and becoming stronger, almost like the memory was about to manifest itself into reality by the sheer force of Tohru's desire to make it do so. The apparition opened its mouth to speak, but words would not come to Tohru's ears, and she realized it was because she could not remember a single thing Buffy had said in their recent times together. There had probably been something important that was worth memorizing, but it was lost in the dust of time and forgotten in light of the current events.

_Is it finally over_?

Tohru thought that she would cry. That was what usually happened in situations where she felt hopelessly alone, when her mother's loving memory could not touch the part of her heart that ached like a torn, infected wound. Her fingers unconsciously dug further into her eyes, causing discomfort but no tears.

Her eyes burned with exhaustion.

She had to close them soon.

Her gaze darted to the closed door, staring at the finely polished brass knob for the slightest movement, a tiny hint that someone was trying to turn it and enter her room.

It was no one.

Tohru's breathing was soft and steady through her slack mouth. Each deep inhalation coincided with a painful throb of her beating heart, constantly reminding her of that which she had felt pounding inside her skull as the darkness fell upon her, on top of her, pressing her down and making every involuntary act necessary for survival a struggle.

She could hear someone moving in the hallway outside her room. However far or close, unsure.

Her eyelids began to fall.

She imprinted her will upon them with her fingers, but everything was beginning to blur. Her fingers were trembling all the way to the tips, making the gesture a futile one. She began to fall forward, her spine curving like a snake as her head lolled to the side, face pressing hard against her left shoulder.

Were the footsteps closer? she wondered dimly.

Her door was locked.

* * *

The distant chirp of crickets amidst the crackle of burning leaves and twigs that left a smoky haze inside Buffy's nostrils were among the first things she observed upon awakening. As her eyes opened, she took notice of the darkness around her, the quiet moonlight sending slivers of silver to illuminate that which lay beyond the fire's reach. She flexed her fingers, air escaping her creaky joints as she pressed her hands against the ground and pushed herself upright.

A thin cotton blanket fell from her shoulders as she sat up, landing in a small heap in her lap. She was relieved to see that she was still wearing the new clothing Hatori had brought her earlier and not another barely-there ensemble, but the feeling of relief quickly faded as she looked across the burning campfire and saw that she was not alone.

Her companion was dark, as though his existance was absorbing the light trying to illuminate him and creating a vacuum from it instead. As Buffy's eyes adjusted to the dimness of the viewing area, she realized that the figure was simply wearing dark-colored clothing that covered him from head-to-toe, very literally. But for a tiny break in the darkness where his right eye was visible, he was cloaked.

"Do you always snore like that when you're unconscious?" a low voice asked with an air of disinterest. Because the man's mouth was covered, Buffy had no conclusive proof that the guy across from her had asked the question, but she decided to assume it was him so that she had someone close by to be angry at.

"I don't snore! Trust me, I've been knocked out plenty, and no one's ever complained about the noise," Buffy replied defensively, eyes falling on the object held in the strange man's left hand. She was able to make out the outline of a book after a few seconds of squinting. "Just who are you, anyway?"

"Hatake Kakashi. And what should I call you, little girl with the big snoring problem?"

Buffy bit her lower lip, clenching her fists tightly at her sides as she stood, kicking the blanket aside as it started to wrap around her ankles with the fall. "I'm Buffy Summers, and I don't snore! You're just making that up because you're a creepy jerk!"

"Bread?" Kakashi asked, lifting his free arm and extending it over the fire towards her. His half-gloved fingers were wrapped around a medium-sized breadroll of some kind, slowly opening so that it lay in the center of his open palm, free for the taking. She saw that she had been wrong about his complete darkness; besides his eye showing, his sleeves only covered three fourths of his arm. _He's still for the most part dressed for the Arctic_, Buffy thought as she slowly took the roll, holding it with both hands and squeezing softly to test the hardness of the object. It was pretty soft, so she decided to take an experimental bite, opening her mouth and tearing off a tiny piece with her teeth.

The bread was surprisingly sweet, the sugar and starch dissolving quickly on her greedy tongue. Buffy realized in the midst of devouring the roll (which contained some kind of sticky filling whose flavor was indiscernable) that she was starving after not having eaten for a long time. "Do you have anything else to snack on?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant even as she willed her churning stomach to stay still and quiet. She decided to refrain from showing weakness in front of the guy, since he would probably use it just to mock her later.

"Nah, I ate everything else. I don't like sweet rolls," Kakashi replied. If he noticed her persistent hunger, he kept it to himself.

Buffy leaned closer to the fire, trying to see past the night to get a better look at Hatake Kakashi's eye, the only possible indication of what he was feeling, if anything. Questions came to her finally, bursting through the veil of hunger and her ever-present headache. "How did I come to be here? Did you find me outside of the gates?"

"Yeah. I was waiting for you to be alone before knocking you out and dragging you here. Of course, you took care of that unconscious part for me."

Confusion reared its black, ugly head inside of her, sending her stomach acids in a whirlwind. _Am I... in danger_? Had it been a mistake to dismiss the guy as some rude weirdo with no personal interest in her? Was he an enemy? Was the roll poisoned and spreading throughout her body as the seconds ticked past? She narrowed her eyes at Kakashi. "Hey, put down Green Eggs and Ham for a second and converse with me, okay?"

"Hmm? Why?" Kakashi sounded genuinely curious, though his voice was still coated with a thick layer of apathy.

"Because I'm getting pissed off, and you don't want to deal with me when I start seeing red, because then you'll get your ass kicked," Buffy explained simply. She found herself smiling when Kakashi shifted slightly, lowering the book to the ground face down, open to the page he had been reading. His eye locked on her in a lazy stare.

"Is that so?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. Well, no. Well, I don't know. I don't want to pick a fight with you or anything, but let's face it, you've already openly insulted me and said you were planning to knock me unconcious at the first opportunity. What am I supposed to do, sit here with a stupid smile and let you keep playing the cool card? Sorry, but that's never been in my rule book," Buffy said, stepping backwards in a subtle move to get more distance between her and Kakashi than just the fire. "Can I just ask you some questions and get straight answers?"

Kakashi emitted a sound much like a yawn, his eye closing briefly before popping back open and steadying on her. "Maybe you could answer my question first. I only have one, as opposed to your--?"

"Endless," Buffy finished quickly, nodding. "Go ahead, then, ask."

"You were the girl fighting in that Coliseum the other day."

_Am I dreaming_? It was a valid question to float through her mind, given how weird her mental states had been in the more recent days. She held her hand over the fire, lowering it so that the flames danced briefly against her delicate skin. She grunted from the pain, her quick reflexes saving her from anything but a superficial first-degree burn. She held her hand up facing her, stared at her reddening skin, and decided that she was in the real world. "How the hell did you know that?" she asked finally, unaware of the intense scrutiny she was under at that moment.

The eye narrowed. "And what were your questions?"

"You answered them," Buffy said woodenly, her gaze drifting beyond what she could see as she sank to the ground, landing on the puddled blanket from before. She grasped her injured hand tightly, feeling the pulse of blood beneath the burn as her heart raced in her chest. She felt like she had been drop-kicked by his observation, the implications of which were beyond staggering. Not just her and Tohru, but this stranger as well...

"That's why I wanted to get you here." A rustling sound as Kakashi's clothes rubbed loudly together, his body shifting into a more relaxed pose as he folded his arms behind his head and stared up at the night sky. "I figured you might be able to tell me how to get back to that world."

Buffy shook herself, trying to recapture that spark she had felt earlier as Kakashi pointlessly insulted her. She had truly felt like her old self then, and she wanted to cling to that feeling as long as possible before falling back into the now-familiar distance that forced itself upon her as strange events enveloped her in a coccoon of horrible fate. "I don't know," she said, hearing the words come from her mouth as though a stranger was speaking. "I haven't found the way back there."

"Well, you haven't really looked, have you? We've only been back here for about half a day," Kakashi said.

Once more he had firm hold of Buffy's attention that snapped back. "What do you mean, _we_? How do you know _that_?"

"Huh? Oh, when I woke up, you and I were next to a pool of water in that strange small village. I heard someone approaching and escaped into the trees, so I saw when that boy picked you up and carried you to one of the buildings. I figured I would talk to you later, like I said." Kakashi sat up quickly with a small groan of protest, reaching for his book.

Buffy followed his slovenly movements with her eyes, glaring when she saw he was preparing to return to his stupid book rather than figure things out with her. "Sheesh, are you that excited to find out what happens in that pointless story? Take a look around you, isn't this screwed up enough to hold your interest?"

"...not really," Kakashi shrugged, staring down at his book while leaning closer to the fire to gain better light to read by.

"Then I'm totally wasting my time with you," Buffy said angrily, standing too quickly. The blood rushed again to her head as it had before, causing the kaleidoscope of colors to explode in her vision. She jerked to the side as she caught herself from falling, jamming her foot hard on the ground to regain her balance.

"Maybe you should take it easy," Kakashi said, his nose practically buried in his book. "You've got quite the hunger headache going there."

So he had figured it out. Who knew a guy with one eye to see with could be so perceptive? Buffy continued to stand despite his advice, shaking her head again a veritable ocean of pain inside her cranium. "Like you said, you don't have any food. I guess I'll have to go find some."

"Oh. I was figuring you and I would team up for awhile, seeing as we've both got the same problem."

"Yeah, right! Like I want to spend my hours near some guy who insults me randomly and reads cheap romance novels! I can think of a dozen less painful ways to die, thanks," Buffy scoffed, proud of herself for bearing the pain well enough to spew more sarcasm at the guy. His mere appearance was annoying her at the moment, though she suspected she was being overly grumpy due to hunger. Of course, Kakashi's 'who gives a fuck?' attitude wasn't helping her warm up to him in the least.

"Oh. Okay." Kakashi didn't move as Buffy began to back away slowly, watching him warily through a slight fuzzy haze before turning her back and moving slowly away to a cut-out path in the trees surrounding the clearing. The biggest revelations had come to her while walking by herself, so she secretly hoped it was the best course of action. Surely Mr. No-Face back there wasn't going to be much help when he couldn't even bother putting his book away when speaking to her about important things. Despite the fact that he had openly admitted he was planning to knock her out and drag her somewhere to 'talk,' he hadn't seemed very interested in interaction at all.

The path was not actually as clear as it had first appeared to be. There were thick tree branches hanging low enough to be in her way and God only knew what kind of creatures lay sleeping upon them as she made her way past such obstacles, ducking low and moving fast. Her pants were sturdy enough to repel the thick tangle of fallen twigs and leafy plants that grew all over the place, but she was sure that by the end of her trip through the woods, her socks would be ruined with the dirt. She had forgotten to procure some kind of footwear for herself before setting off from the Soumas, but it was far too late to go back there now. They would be suspicious as to why she had run, why the people she had claimed could help her didn't seem to know who she was. Akito believed her crazy story, but the others were less likely to accept it on account of being kept intentionally in the dark by the man. They would never understand.

Especially that Kyou.

_But why is Akito hiding these things from them? Satoshi only hinted at the origin of the curse, but if it had anything to do with sealing Malas to prevent the Earth's end, it can't possibly be anything good, right?_

Buffy stopped, partly due to a particularly sharp throb in her temple that left her momentarily blinded and also because she had come to a dead end. An almost literal wall of trees stood in front of her like ancient guards around a royal palace. She must have taken a wrong turn or just had the wrong way to begin with.

Sighing, she whirled around, all too aware of the failings of her body's systems. Not only was her brain foggy with pain, her upper digestive tract was groaning for the want of sustenance. She had taken a few more difficult steps forward when a large crash sounded above her head, leaves and branches coming down to coat her hair and shoulders, though the majority of the mess fell inches in front of her. In the span of an eyeblink Kakashi was standing a foot ahead, looking down at her with his eye holding the same blank void as before. "Yo."

Buffy managed to speak despite being floored with genuine shock. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Kakashi asked calmly in lieu of giving a satisfying and acceptable explanation. Buffy narrowed her eyes at him, giving him a quick once over as was her habit, sizing him up like she would an opponent. He was about as tall as Angel, though the light whip of hair atop his head gave him several more inches in height. In any case, he was towering over her, leading to the usual eyes-looking-as-upward-as-possible-to-avoid-craning-neck pose for Buffy to meet his gaze. His clothing was simple, though a bit superfluous given the warm weather. He could have been decked out in army camouflage if it had been in a spotted pattern rather than a uniform dark color. His vest was actually a lighter green than it had seemed by the fire, which had given it a reddish glow.

"What the hell, 'do what'? Come from above me and land without a grunt or any sort of sign that gravity has the same effect on you as it does on us miserable humans?" Buffy demanded, folding her arms low across her stomach, which helped ease the empty ache slightly.

She was surprised when he elaborated, though his words didn't exactly answer the posed question. "Well, I tracked your movements through the woods, saw you were heading for an impassable wall of trees, and decided to head you off on the way back. I was originally planning to catch you when you reached the dirt road, but this works, too."

She must have been moving loud enough to wake hibernating bears. Hunger and a constant headache certainly weren't helping her execute her stealth Slayer prowess. She was too tired to hammer him for a direct answer to the previous inquiry, figuring it must have been a trick of her weary eyes. "Okay, what's your point? Why continue to follow me when it seems like you couldn't care less to actually figure this out together?"

"I wanted to see how the chapter ended," Kakashi replied, bending his head a little towards her. She was trying not to be unnerved by his constant stare, wondering how one simple eye that wasn't even filled with any overt malice could be so affecting. Maybe it was the fact that most of his face was hidden from view that gave the visible part its impact.

"That's great. How can you even care about reading insipid books when you're pretty much trapped in a real life horror novel here?" Buffy demanded, rolling her eyes and staring straight ahead at Kakashi's puffy vest. "Like I said, I don't have time to sit around and watch a stranger do nothing. I have to find a way back to that other world."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking exactly," Kakashi said with a nod. He turned his body slightly so that he could glance behind him with ease. "The fire's going to die soon." He reached over and began to pluck twigs from Buffy's hair and clothing.

Buffy twisted away from him, her back hitting the wall of trees. Her hands worked furiously over herself, beating away the leaves and sticks still clinging to her. "Don't touch me, okay? Just point me in the direction of the road so I can find my way to some place with food."

"And then?" Kakashi prodded, bending low to gather the larger fallen branches in his arms.

"Then what?"

"What's your plan to get back to that place?"

Buffy's lips pressed tightly together in a pout of annoyance, her head tilting downward to watch the man's slow movements. "I'm going to wait for whoever dragged me there in the first place to get off their ass and send me back."

"Oh. That doesn't sound like a very good plan," Kakashi commented, holding his collected firewood close to his body with his left arm, straightening his legs and standing over her again.

Buffy shrugged, knowing that any person of rational thinking would call her plan foolish at best, impossible at worst. It wasn't her fault that she was in such a mystifying situation to begin with, so she took slight offense to his doubt. "Maybe. All I know is that I was minding my own business in Sleepyville before I woke up here through no effort on my part. I figure the gateway back should be just as easy. Shouldn't it work both ways?"

Kakashi kept his eye on her, betraying nothing of his thoughts.

Buffy mashed her chapped lips together, deciding that it was about time he started helping her understand. His silence couldn't continue if she was to have any hope of working with him.

She steadied herself against the tree, meeting his eye with both of hers. "Okay. Tell me, then. How did _you_ get here?"

END ACT I


End file.
